Onyx and Ivory
by Mangokid
Summary: Attitude? Check. Sarcasm? Check. Last of her clan? Check. Uchiha Itachi's self declared rival? Double Check. A tale of love, loss, betrayal and the ultimate sacrifice. "You won't like what I have to say." "Well, it's a good thing I'm already mentally unstable otherwise this would be a totally different conversation." ItachixOc.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

 **Onyx and Ivory.**

* * *

"Remember to listen to your Sensei."

"Hai," a young girl replied to her mother towering over her and fixing her hair for the seventh time, not that she was counting.

"And pay attention to everything, you don't want to miss out on learning the techniques." Her father commented as he pointed his finger at her.

"Hai, Otou-san." She nodded swiftly. Her shining silver eyes darted from her father and mother to the other children who stood eagerly in line, waiting to be brought into the Shinobi Academy for her first day. Her eyes drifted to other parents around her, who she noticed were staring at her family with hate filled gazes. She lowered her gaze as she felt her mother crouch down in front of her.

"Don't mind them, Hoshiko-chan." Her mother tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear as she kissed her on the forehead.

"Hai," she muttered quietly. There was a commotion behind Hoshiko as she turned and saw the Sandaime Hokage approach the children. Hoshiko knew that it was now her time to leave the safety of her parents embrace. She felt the tears sting her eyes but she held them back. Her mother quickly hugged her tightly.

"Be good, and have fun." She said to her. Hoshiko looked up at her father, with the same matching silver eyes as he grinned and ruffled her hair. Hoshiko returned his smile as she hurriedly made her way into the line with the other children. Hoshiko tried to ignore the whispers that she heard behind her back;

" _Why did the Sandaime let her into the academy?_ "

" _They have no right to be Shinobi of Konoha._ "

" _Their clan was a good for nothing nuisance, pity they didn't get wiped out with the rest._ "

Hoshiko continued to feel the sting of tears behind her eyes but she hastily sucked in a deep breath and paid attention to the Hokage before her. Something drew her eyesight as she glanced to her left. To her surprise a young boy was staring at her curiously. He was small, with raven locks hanging over his face and equally dark eyes. Hoshiko felt her face flush with embarrassment, knowing that the boy had heard the people talking before as she turned her face away and stared at the ground intensely.

"Welcome to your first year as Academy students!" The pudgy man exclaimed to his wide-eyed class with his arms extended out. "I am Inoue-sensei and will be your sensei for the remainder of the year." Inoue's dark eyes scanned the room, seeing all the young faces, some familiar as he had close ties with most of the families in Konoha, but a few escaped him.

"Firstly, we will go through some introductions. When I point to you, please stand up and introduce yourself to the class." Inoue pointed to the first few children who stood up excitedly. They happily shouted their names to the other students as Inoue pointed to a boy with dark hair and eyes.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi." He said quietly. There was a silence in the room before a few of the girls starting whispering together and gushing over him. Itachi sat back down in his chair and turned his head to face the window as he gazed at the trees and birds outside.

"And you?" Inoue pointed to the lone girl sitting at the back of the class with her head slightly lowered. Her dark hair was drawn around her face as she lifted her silver eyes and scanned the group of children who were now staring at her with weary and curious gazes.

Hoshiko rose slowly as she cleared her throat, "Ginyoru Hoshiko." Inoue tried to hide his surprise as he studied the small child as she sat back down and folded her arms in front of herself.  
Hoshiko hated when people stared at her, she knew that she looked different. Her eyes were weird and she was impeccably small. The adults of the village always looked at her family in scorn and when she played at the park parents would always make a point to have their children stay away from her. She knew that it was something to do with her family, her parents had told her that they had come from another village when their clan had been wiped out during the Third Shinobi War, they had been deemed too dangerous but Hoshiko had never been able to figure out why. It must've been something terrible for the Konoha villagers to avoid her family like the plague. Hoshiko sighed as she tried to concentrate on her teacher but she didn't have the energy, all she wanted to do was go back home and spend time with her parents.

* * *

During their lunch break Hoshiko wondered around the academy, she was petrified to go up to anyone and ask to join them so she settled for observing the other children. She could already see that clicks were being made with her classmates as they all eyed her wearily as she passed them by. She lowered her gaze and shuffled her feet to the edge of the field where she leaned against the wire fence and sighed heavily.  
A few children ran past her as she glanced up, watching them hover around the boy who had introduced himself as Uchiha Itachi. Hoshiko saw the girls her age start squealing around him and asking him questions as Itachi gave them all a blank stare and walked off; the herd of girls not to far behind.

* * *

When the Academy day had finished Hoshiko was the last one to leave the classroom, she waited until all of the children had rushed out of the room before she even decided to move from her chair. Inoue had given her a long look before leaving the room also and heading out. Hoshiko sighed as she rose from her chair and walked down the stairs and exited the room.  
She wondered what was so special about Uchiha Itachi? He was quiet like her, he had only spoken once during the day, which had been stating his name…and yet everyone wanted to be his friend. Well, the girls did anyway. Hoshiko had noticed that the boys grumbled whenever he came close to them. Hoshiko thought about the Uchiha's, she hadn't had any dealings with them since she could remember, but she had heard about them, they were supposed to be one of the, if not the most strongest clan in the village.

Hoshiko exited the Academy and gazed up at the setting sun, the sky had turned into a burning orange as she headed in the direction of her home. It was a short walk, her small home in the market district of Konoha, above a dango store. Hoshiko pulled the door open and ascended the stairs sluggishly as she could hear her mother preparing dinner in the kitchen. Her father was seated in the family room reading a book. The both of them glanced up with excited faces.

"How was your first day, darling?" Hiroka asked her daughter as Hoshiko didn't meet her gaze and kept her head hung down.

"Fine," she replied monotonously.

"Did you make any friends?" Her mother pressed as Hoshiko walked straight passed the both of them and in the direction of her small room.

"No." She admitted.

Hiroka and Kisho exchanged worried glances as they heard her bedroom door shut.

* * *

XxX

"I don't want to fight that freak!"

The finger that was pointed in Hoshiko's face annoyed her. She glared at the boy who had been the bane of her existence for the past three months at the academy. His name was Kamano and he always whined and complained and bullied Hoshiko on a daily basis. He was a year older than her and because of low numbers the Taijutsu classes were mixed together with young and older students.

"Kamano-kun, you don't get to make the rules." Inoue scolded the boy as he folded his arms and turned his chin up at her.

"She could kill me with her freaky Kekkei Genkai!" Kamano hollered as Hoshiko seethed internally. She balled her fists up at her sides and tried not to lash out in anger at the boy. Hoshiko made a point to never give in to Kamano; she didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he irked her.

"I guess you're just scared then, huh?" Hoshiko teased him as Kamano narrowed his eyes at her.

"Baka! I'm not afraid of a little squirt like you! I'll show you!" Kamano charged for Hoshiko as she took a defensive stance. Kamano veered to the left as Hoshiko blocked his punch as he turned and kicked her in the stomach. Hoshiko didn't have a chance to block as she fell back onto the ground, the wind speeding out of her lungs as she clutched her stomach in pain. She sensed Kamano walk up to her as she cracked an eye open and saw Kamano smirking down at her. "Heh, told you I could beat you, squirt!" He yelled triumphantly as he held his fist up. Hoshiko frowned in annoyance.

"The winner is Kamano!" Inoue-sensei bellowed as the rest of the class erupted into applause and cheers. Kamano was blowing kisses to his friends and mocking Hoshiko on the ground as she lashed out at him.  
She kicked his legs out from underneath him as Kamano yelped and hit the floor on his shoulder. She lunged for the bully but an arm held her back.

"Hoshiko!" Inoue-sensei scolded her as she froze and looked up at his stern glare. "Kamano won fair and square, you are acting inappropriately." Inoue-sensei said to her as Hoshiko pressed her lips into a fine line. She had just about had enough of people picking on her.

Hoshiko spun on her heel and moved to the back of the class as Inoue-sensei helped Kamano up from the ground as he complained about his shoulder hurting. Inoue-sensei sent him off to the academy nurse. As Kamano made it to the door he paused and looked over his shoulder, his dark gaze sought out Hoshiko as he smirked and scoffed at her, obviously faking his injury to get her in more trouble. The girl crossed her arms and faced back to the class and watched the next spar.

Hoshiko was immediately intrigued when she saw Uchiha Itachi step up with another one of the bullies who picked on her also. Itachi looked bored as Inoue-sensei instructed them to begin. The bully, Michi, raised his hands and rushed at Itachi. Itachi didn't even bat an eyelid as he twisted around Michi, kicked his legs out as he fell to the ground and bent his arms behind his back. Everything had happened in less then three seconds as the crowd of children were completely silent.

"Uchiha Itachi is the winner…" Inoue-sensei said in awe as Itachi removed himself from Michi and walked back into his spot in the crowd.  
Hoshiko followed him with her eyes as she clenched her fists, I will be strong like him one day. She thought to herself.

* * *

A few days later, after the Academy day had finished Hoshiko was exiting the building. She was once again the last to leave as she headed into the forest, taking the short cut to the market district where her home was. As she walked into the forest she heard a branch snap behind her as she turned quickly. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Kamano, Michi and the other bully Ren standing with evil smirks and crossed arms.

"Well well, look who it is boys," Kamano scoffed as he nudged Michi. "Think you could get away with hitting me, eh, squirt?" Kamano growled at her as Hoshiko tensed up and glared at the three boys.

"Yeah, it ain't nice to hit your superiors!" Ren called out. Suddenly Hoshiko felt a rough hand push her forwards as she fell to the ground. She looked over her shoulder and saw one more boy, Shinji chuckling at her predicament.

"You deserved it!" Hoshiko shouted at Kamano.  
Kamano looked to his friends and advanced towards Hoshiko. The small dark haired girl backed up and knelt on her knees, meeting his glare. Kamano reached out and tangled his fingers into her hair painfully and tugged.

"Yeah, well we don't like freaks like you! You don't have any friends and you always think you're better then everyone else!" Kamano yelled at her. Hoshiko wanted to scream that she didn't think that, but the pain on her head caused her to hiss and tears to spring at the corners of her eyes.

"Teach her a lesson, Kamano!" Shinji howled from behind. Ren and Michi encouraged him, yelling and whooping as Kamano tugged at her dark tresses painfully. Hoshiko refused to let them see her cry as she tried to kick and punch Kamano but he was easily able to dodge out of the way.

"Freaks like you don't belong here," Kamano spat at her. Kamano went to hit her as Hoshiko closed her eyes shut tightly, preparing herself for the pain. She was surprised when she didn't feel anything but heard the boys suddenly cry out in pain, and heard the sounds of a fist meeting flesh.

"What the hell, Uchiha?" Ren screamed at the dark eyed boy as he stared at his fallen friends with wide eyes. Kamano, Shinji and Michi were all incapacitated on the ground as Ren crawled backwards in fear, his navy eyes wide as saucers. With a swift hit to the back of the neck, Ren was out cold and Itachi turned around to examine Hoshiko's condition.  
She was surveying the area, her silver eyes trying to process what had just happened as Itachi calmly walked up to her. He knelt down and met her gaze.

"Are you ok?" He asked. His onyx eyes met her silver as he could see the remnants of unshed tears. Hoshiko was stunned but managed to nod slowly. Hoshiko pushed herself onto her legs as Itachi followed. Itachi was small for his age, but Hoshiko was tinier than him. He studied her shoulder length dark hair, seeing the knots and dirt mingled in with her locks. Her face had splotches of dirt on her cheek and her dark plum kimono dress was marred with soil. Her black shorts that she wore had a tear above her knee and the skin was bleeding.

"Why did you do that?" Hoshiko whispered, her voice quiet but strong. She was not used to being shown this much kindness from strangers, everyone always avoided her and her family. She never expected someone, much less Uchiha Itachi to come to her defense. Itachi tilted his head to the side and smiled gently.

"I don't like to see people get hurt," he replied as Hoshiko felt her cheeks flush.

"I—I could have handled it myself!" She burst out and then immediately turned away, her face burning from embarrassment. She heard the musical chuckle of the boy standing next to her as she peeked at him from in between the strands of her hair. Hoshiko became irritated as she spun around on her heel and marched away from the scene, heading to her home.

As she walked, she could distinctly hear footsteps behind her. Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Itachi who was still indeed following her. She halted in her steps and spun around pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What the hell do you want?"

Itachi stopped in his advance as he stared curiously at the girl before him; he had never been criticized for helping someone before, normally everyone always thanked him and then proceeded to gush over him like all the other children did. He found it strange that Hoshiko wanted nothing to do with him.

"My mother reminds me to always help those who are weaker than I am." Itachi replied smoothly.  
It was only later that Itachi had realized his mistake. In a split second Itachi felt a fist connect with his cheek as he went sprawling to the ground. Hoshiko was towering over him with her fist clenched and a murderous glint in her amber eyes.

"I'm not weaker than you! I'll become strong, just you wait!" She screeched as Itachi rubbed the side of his face and stared up in confusion at the girl. She shook her fist at him and then sped off down the path, disappearing from sight.

Itachi clambered to his feet and brushed down his clothes, his cheek wasn't hurting that much, Hoshiko's punch hadn't been all that strong. There was a musical chuckle from the trees as Itachi recognized the chakra signature as a figure leapt down from the trees.

"You have a way with words, cousin."

"Shisui," Itachi stated in surprise as he looked over at his older cousin. Shisui was grinning as he shoved Itachi lightly and laughed.

"Making lots of friends at the Academy I see!" He teased as Itachi frowned at him in annoyance.

"Let's go train." Itachi grumbled as he leapt up into the trees. Shisui, still laughing, followed closely behind.

XxX

In the months that followed the bully incident, Hoshiko took it upon herself to practice as much as she possibly could every day. After her classes at the Academy she would retreat to the training grounds and practice until she couldn't move anymore. She would punch until her knuckles were red raw and expend nearly all of her chakra on trying to accomplish hard techniques.  
Hoshiko leapt up into the air and threw her kunai, impaling the post with three out of four kunai; she landed on the ground with a thud and scrunched up her face at her apparent failure to land all four kunai. She retrieved her weapons and then began again.

From up in the treetops, a curious Itachi perched on a thick branch as he watched Hoshiko try again with her kunai throwing. His onyx eyes watched the way she tensed her body up before throwing and knew that if she kept her body relaxed, she'd be able to hit all four of them; but he didn't dare go down and tell her that, lest he be hit by her again.  
Itachi was surprised at her dedication to her training, he had only stumbled across her practicing a week ago, and found that she came here every day after their classes at the academy. He didn't mean to pry, but he was curious as to why Hoshiko was training so hard. Ever since that day with the bullies, Hoshiko had been more withdrawn than ever, she refused to speak to anyone in the class and made a pointed habit of ignoring the young Uchiha to point of being comical. Itachi couldn't understand why Hoshiko hated him so, and that's why he took it upon himself to try and figure her out.  
Itachi knew that he was mature for his age, preferring to train with his Otou-san and cousin, Shisui then hang around with his peers. He could understand complex techniques that the others his age could only dream about, and yet he couldn't understand why Hoshiko loathed him so much.  
Itachi felt a chakra signature appear next to him as he inclined his head to Shisui.

"Spying on her again, are we?" Shisui said as Itachi felt his cheeks flush lightly.

"I'm not spying." He retorted back as Shisui sat down on the branch and leaned his back against the trunk of the tree.

"Yeah I know. You're just trying to…what was it…?" Shisui mused, tapping his chin as Itachi bristled at his cousin's annoying habits of teasing him. "Oh yeah, figure her out?"

"Did you find out about what I asked?" Itachi said hastily, wanting to change the subject. Ever since Shisui had found his cousin three days ago studying Hoshiko he always made a point to tease him.

"Hai, hai…" Shisui sighed. "From what my Otou-san said, her clan comes from somewhere near Iwa. They have a very powerful Kekkei Genkai that allows them to absorb chakra from their enemies with a single touch. They can also extract memories from their victims and use that chakra to heal wounds and give them a pretty powerful energy boost." Shisui explained as Itachi continued to trail his eyes on Hoshiko as she failed to perform the clone jutsu. "Apparently during the Third Shinobi war the clan was recruited by Iwa to be hired mercenaries, they used them to annihilate hundreds of Shinobi. Seeing how powerful they were Konoha wiped them out, but three remained and pledged their loyalty to Konoha and the Hokage."

Itachi felt a deep sadness in his gut. He now understood why the adults hated Hoshiko's family so much. They were part of a powerful clan that had killed Konoha Shinobi and in return they had been slaughtered. "Her father works in the Intel division, apparently he's been put to good use at getting information." Shisui said. Itachi pondered his friend's words. It would make sense; if their Kekkei Genkai allowed them to retrieve memories from chakra then they would make formidable interrogators. It was a scary bloodline indeed. "I can see why no one likes them. Hell. I wouldn't want to piss off her again," Shisui said with a smirk as Itachi faced his cousin. Itachi opened his mouth to reply when his senses tingled. A kunai suddenly flew by his and Shisui's face as the two boys gaped and looked down at the ground.

Hoshiko was glaring at them with her fierce silver eyes as she remained in her throwing position. The two boys had been caught out. Shisui gave Itachi a glance and made a hand sign.

"Ja ne, cousin." Shisui disappeared in a puff of smoke with a sly smirk, leaving Itachi alone. Itachi cursed his cousin for putting him in this situation as he met Hoshiko's icy glare. Itachi sighed as he quickly left the scene, fleeing through the trees.

Hoshiko's eyes widened slightly, she hadn't known that Itachi was that fast. One second he had been staring at her, and then next he was gone. She seethed and started mumbling under her breath curses and accusations about the Uchiha boy that she had inwardly declared her rival.  
I'm going to be better than him, one day!

When Hoshiko arrived at the training ground the next day, she was relieved to see that Itachi was nowhere to be found. He had clearly gotten the message loud and clear.

* * *

XxX

When the first year at the academy was coming to an end, and the news of Itachi's impeding graduation had just been revealed to his parents but not the rest of the village. Mikoto took her two sons out shopping for a present for her eldest son. Sasuke was held in his mothers arms as Itachi walked silently beside his mother. They were walking though the market district, peering into shops as Itachi held some bags for his mother, complaining mentally about how much of hassle it was to go shopping with his mother, she always exclaimed that they either needed new shoes, or new shirts, or new throwing kunai. Itachi never needed new things as he always kept everything clean and in good condition.  
"Nonsense, darling! You're going to be a Genin, you need new clothes and weapons," Mikoto had exclaimed as she bought him another pair of shoes.

The family had stopped at the dumpling store as Mikoto bought Itachi his favorite treat. Sasuke was cooing happily in the chair and chirping as he sucked on a dumpling. Mikoto was grinning from ear to ear as she watched her youngest son as Itachi ate his dumplings in silence.  
His mother broke the silence, "Itachi-kun, isn't that girl in your class?" Itachi felt his stomach drop as he looked to where his mother was pointing; and sure enough, he spotted Hoshiko with her mother presumably as they peered through a window-shop across the street. Hoshiko, over the year had changed her outfit from the ridiculous yukata that she wore. She now donned a simple navy vest with a white sash around her middle and paired it with black shorts and high-legged boots. Her hair had grown longer and she had recently come to tie it up with a red ribbon in a high ponytail. Itachi had never seen her mother before now, and came to realize that she had inherited nearly all of her features from her mother, except her eyes.

Itachi had found out that one of the reasons why Hoshiko's family had been spared was because her father was ostracized from the clan for marrying outside of the clan. Hoshiko's mother wasn't from the Ginyoru clan and the family had been living separate from their family for a long time. The way you could tell if someone was in the clan was by their eyes. The extraordinary silver eyes belonged to the clan and were passed down through each generation. Hoshiko's mother was very small like her, with straight black hair and dark brown eyes. She was a simple civilian and wore an ankle length dress of moss green; she worked in the pharmacy most days.

"What's the girls name, Itachi-kun?" Mikoto asked her son as Itachi stuffed his face with another dumpling.

"Ginyoru Hoshiko." He replied. Mikoto gave her son a scolding look for replying with a full mouth, but it was replaced with sympathy as she recognized the clan name. All Konoha villagers knew about the three Ginyoru, there had been uproar when the Sandaime had granted them amnesty four years ago. Mikoto was no stranger to being shunned, her Uchiha family was blamed for the Kyuubi attack, and she could sympathize with them. Mikoto watched as Hoshiko and her mother turned away from the shop and passed by the entrance of the dumpling shop.

"Ohayo! Ginyoru-san!" Mikoto called as Itachi froze to his seat. He couldn't believe that his mother was welcoming them over; he knew that Hoshiko still despised him.

Hoshiko and her mother were quite stunned to say the least when they heard their name being called. Hiroka turned her head and saw a beautiful dark haired woman waving her over. Hoshiko recognized Itachi immediately as her expression turned sour. Hiroka wondered over, pulling her reluctant daughter with her as they came to a stop at the table.

"Ohayo, Uchiha-san," Hiroka greeted with a bow as Hoshiko did the same out of respect. Mikoto smiled and waved her hand.

"Please, it's Mikoto." Mikoto said to Hiroka as she nodded with a smile; Hiroka's attention was drawn by baby Sasuke who giggled and laughed.

"And who is this may I ask?" Hiroka asked as she bent down to Sasuke's level and played with his dainty fingers. Mikoto looked at her son lovingly.

"This is Sasuke. My other son is Itachi," Mikoto said, pointing to Itachi who was looking anywhere but Hoshiko at the moment. Hiroka looked over at Itachi and smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Itachi-kun. Do you know my daughter Hoshiko-chan?" Hiroka nudged Hoshiko to greet the family as the girl crossed her arms angrily and frowned at Itachi.

"We're in the same class," Itachi replied to Hiroka, as the older woman looked a little surprised.

"Oh, you've never mentioned that," Hiroka turned to look at her daughter as Hoshiko turned her face away from him.

"We aren't friends." She stated. Instead of scolding her daughter for her rude attitude Hiroka and Mikoto shared a knowing look. "I'm going to go train, it was nice to meet you, Mikoto-san." Hoshiko said with a wave as she turned away.

"Why don't you and Itachi-kun train together?" Hiroka asked Hoshiko as the young girl froze and tensed up. She looked over her shoulder to see her mother smiling at her sweetly and then looking over at Itachi to see him staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"What a wonderful idea!" Mikoto gushed. "Itachi, go ahead with Hoshiko-chan." Mikoto urged on her son as Itachi looked between the two mothers. His mature brain was putting two and two together as Hoshiko looked like she was about to murder him on the spot.

"Okaa-san, I need to help you with all these bags." Itachi said as Hiroka butted in.

"I'll help your mother, Itachi-kun. Now you two run along!" Hiroka pulled Itachi up by his arm and shoved him into Hoshiko who took a large step to the side and glared at him. Before the two children had a chance to protest, Mikoto and Hiroka took all the bags and Sasuke and left the shop, leaving the two almost seven year olds bristling with each other.  
After a minute of glaring at each other Hoshiko turned away and leapt up onto the nearest rooftop and ran off, leaving Itachi in the dust. The young Uchiha sighed and followed after her, he had half a mind to just turn around and go home, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it from his mother, and he wanted to make her happy; so he leapt up onto the roof after Hoshiko and followed her.

* * *

Hoshiko landed in the training area and sighed in relief when she didn't spot the Uchiha around her. He had taken the hint and left her alone. She pulled out her kunai and looked over to the log that protruded out of the ground and ground her teeth in irritation.  
Itachi was perched on the log looking at her lazily, twirling a kunai between his fingers. Hoshiko's face turned bright red as she pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" She screeched at him. Itachi hopped down off the log and walked over to her. His onyx gaze intimidated Hoshiko but she didn't back down, least of all to Uchiha Itachi.

"Why do you hate me, Ginyoru-san?" Itachi asked her. Hoshiko reeled back; she was frozen for a second before she ground her teeth.

"Because you're so perfect!" She exclaimed. "Because you're so good at everything and you don't even try to be. Everyone likes you at the academy and…" She trailed off as Itachi continued to stare at her. His young mind figuring out what she was trying to say. Hoshiko balled her fists up at her side. "Everybody hates me!" she screeched. Itachi conveyed no emotion.

 _Girls are so emotional_ , he thought to himself. Hoshiko threw the kunai and watched it imbed into the wooden post.

"I'm going to be strong! I'm going to surpass everyone and have them all acknowledge me." Hoshiko stated as she smirked at the kunai.

"So you hate me because everyone likes me?" Itachi questioned causing Hoshiko's grin to drop and glance over at him. Her face flushed a deep red; embarrassed at the fact that Itachi was trying to understand her.

"Forget it!" She snapped, she retrieved her kunai and ran away from the training ground.

Itachi tilted his head up to the sky as she watched a cloud float across the blue sky.

* * *

When news spread that Itachi would be graduating at the end of the first year, Hoshiko had been in class with everyone else. Her eyes were fixated on Inoue-sensei as he congratulated Itachi on the accomplishment. Hoshiko watched as all of her classmates went up to Itachi and congratulated him also. Itachi thanked them all quietly and politely, he could feel eyes on the back on his head as he turned slowly and meeting a pair of narrowed silver eyes.  
Hoshiko sighed and turned her head away; she wasn't going to congratulate him, even if the building had been on fire…

* * *

At age nine Hoshiko graduated from the Academy.  
She stood proudly in front of the Hokage and her teachers, she was brimming with pride and joy as Inoue-sensei handed her the Konoha forehead protector. She fastened it tightly to her head.

"Congratulations, Hoshiko." Hiruzen said with a smile as Hoshiko bowed deeply.

"Arigato gozaimasu," she replied.

"You'll be placed on Team 5 with Nara Aki as your Sensei. Daisuke and Ichiro are your teammates, they're waiting for you outside." Inoue-sensei said to the grinning child as she nodded and bounded out of the room.

* * *

After a year of blissful missions with her teammates and sensei, Hoshiko heard the news that Uchiha Itachi had been promoted to Chuunin. Hoshiko had been eating lunch with her team when she had heard the news.  
"Hoshiko-chan? Are you ok?" Daisuke had asked her. His light blue eyes searching over her face. The ten year old Hoshiko clenched her fist and smacked it down on the table.  
"Damn that Uchiha!"

* * *

It was then next year, on Hoshiko's eleventh birthday that she and her team signed up for the Chuunin exams.


	2. Undesirable Senpai

_Undesirable Senpai_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Uchiha Itachi, recently promoted to ANBU, the youngest in Shinobi history at only eleven years old was sitting in the watchtower, presiding over the Chuunin exams with Hatake Kakashi, his Senpai and friend. Itachi's onyx eyes darted over the cameras situated around the arena. He kept a close eye on any suspicious activity as the camera changed to the contestants sitting in the waiting area. Itachi's eyes were drawn to a specific person who was leaning on the railing and talking to her two teammates.

Hoshiko had grown over the years, her face was slightly thinner and her arms and legs had begun to tone out from her training. Her hair, which was still tied up in a ribbon reached the middle of her back. She wore a black undershirt with a navy blue wrap around her stomach and shoulders. Her ankles were wrapped and her feet were clad in black ninja sandals. Her shorts now only reached mid thigh. Itachi watched as her sharp silver eyes looked between her two teammates, Daisuke and Ichiro.  
Itachi tilted his head to the side in surprise when he watched Hoshiko's mouth pull up into a smile as she laughed at something they had said to her. Itachi realized that he had in fact, never seen Hoshiko laugh.

"Oh, friend of yours?" Itachi tensed and quickly hit the button to change camera as he turned his head to see Kakashi peering over his shoulder. The older boy was laughing at the young prodigy; this was evident by the crinkle in his uncovered eye.

"No," Itachi replied firmly. Kakashi clicked his tongue as he reached round and pressed the button to change the camera back. The screen showed Hoshiko and her teammates cheering on someone in the arena as Kakashi opened up the data book on the participants.

"Hmm, Ginyoru Hoshiko. Age eleven, graduated at age nine. Proficient in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Ten D-rank missions completed, eleven C-rank and two B-rank. Kekkei Genkai: Mizukiri," Kakashi read from the book as he shut it and rubbed his chin. "This should be an interesting fight then." Kakashi mused as Itachi watched as Hoshiko high-fived her teammates and jumped down into the arena.

* * *

Hoshiko landed on the ground of the arena as she watched her opponent do the same. The two walked to the center of the arena as the proctor, Mitarashi Anko eyed the two Genin. Hoshiko's opponent was a kid from Suna called Minami Juro. The thirteen year old had deep red hair that touched his shoulders and moss green eyes. He was at least a head and a half taller than Hoshiko and looked down at the girl smugly. Hoshiko gave him a leering smile as Anko held her arm up, "Begin!"

Hoshiko and Juro sprung away from each other as Juro threw three kunai at her, Hoshiko dodged them all and threw her own shuriken at him. While Juro was distracted with them Hoshiko took out a kunai with an explosive tag and threw it at the ground. She watched Juro's eyes widen as he jumped up into the air as the explosion went off. Hoshiko smirked.

" _Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"_

Juro's eyes widened as he realized that there was no way he could dodge the fireball that was heading straight for him. He reached into his pocket and quickly wrapped a kunai in wire as he threw it to the side, the wire tugged him away from the flame, not before the back of his shirt got slightly singed. Juro landed on the ground as he glared at the smirking girl with hate.  
There were cheers and applause coming from the crowd as Hoshiko could hear the villagers cheering her name. She couldn't let it get to her head. But she felt pride knowing that the villagers were starting to acknowledge her after all of these years. Juro suddenly made quick hand seals as he yelled, " _Doton: Doryuudan!"_

Hoshiko watched as a mud dragon formed from the dirt and suddenly started spitting out projectiles as her eyes widened at the speed of them. She ducked and jumped, spinning through the air as the onlookers all waited on baited breath. Hoshiko back flipped as she bent sideways to miss a projectile as she suddenly realized that she had been backed into the wall. Juro, thinking that he had her cornered, spluttered when he watched her run up the side of the arena wall. She kicked off the wall and went sailing straight for Juro.  
He only had a split second to block with her speed as he brought out a kunai in defense as a loud clash rang out as their kunai's met. Sparks flew as Hoshiko brought her leg up and kicked him in the stomach as Juro went sailing back and hit the ground. Hoshiko jumped back as Juro groaned and held his stomach.  
"You stupid little girl!" Juro spat as Hoshiko chuckled.

"You're going to have to try better than that!" She called as Juro glared at her and made hand seals.

" _Doton: Doryuu Katsu!"_ Juro slammed his hand down onto the ground as the floor started to break up under Hoshiko's feet. She gasped and tried to jump out of the hole, her heightened chakra senses sensed Juro above her as she blocked a kick from him. The force of it sent her back as she hit the uneven ground. The air left her lungs from the force of it as she watched Juro wield a mud spear and he intended to come down on her with it.

* * *

From in the observation room, Kakashi and Itachi had their eyes locked on the screen as they watched the Suna Genin aim for Hoshiko.  
"It's over," Kakashi mused. Itachi smirked.

"Hn."

As they watched the screen, Juro impaled Hoshiko's body with the mud spear through her chest. There was a pause for a second when there was a puff of smoke and Hoshiko's body disappeared.

" _Kage bunshin_?" Kakashi stated in surprise, his uncovered eye widened. "But when?"

* * *

Juro's jaw dropped as he stared at the place that his competitor's body had been, he spun around, his green eyes wide as he tried to gauge where she would be coming from. He tried with all his might to sense her but he couldn't find her for the life of him. He raised his kunai in defense as he circled slowly. There was a noise behind him, coming from the tree as he spun around and threw a mud spear in her direction. Hoshiko came flying out of the tree, soaring high into the sky as she deflected the mud spear and threw her own three kunai. Juro deflected them as he grinned.  
 _Has she got nothing else then throwing kunai? Bah, idiot,_ he thought as Hoshiko threw another two. He deflected them as he readied to use a jutsu on her when she landed.

Hoshiko spun in the air as something glinted in her fists; Juro frowned, wondering what the hell she had planned as Hoshiko touched down on the ground. Juro immediately cast his jutsu as he opened his mouth as mud shot out, heading straight for her. Hoshiko anticipated this and in the blink of an eye she was gone, she appeared behind him in incredible speed and Juro saw the glint once more, it was then he realized what she had been doing.

 _Shit,_ he thought as Hoshiko grinned and whipped the wires into the air and curled them around her hands. The shimmer travelled along the wire as Juro saw them attached to the five kunai that she had thrown and he had deflected. He had also given her the opening to trap him by using his jutsu so that she could circle around him. With a sharp tug, Juro felt the wires tighten around his wrists and waist and legs as he groaned out as the wire bit into his flesh.

"When did you _Kage Bunshin?_ " Juro asked through gritted teeth. Hoshiko relaxed once she knew that Juro wasn't going anywhere anymore.

"When I cast the _Katon_ jutsu. You were distracted and I disappeared into the trees." Hoshiko tugged on the wire for good measure as Juro winced.

"So now what?" He asked. Hoshiko's gaze darkened.

"I don't like it when people underestimate me," she muttered. Hoshiko weaved seals in an impeccable speed as she shouted, " _Raiton: Nagashi!"_ Lightning travelled from her fingertips along the wire as it shot at Juro with explosive speed; the Suna Genin screamed as the electricity consumed him. His body blackened from the use of lightning as he slumped in defeat, knocked unconscious from Hoshiko's jutsu as she released the wires and left him fall to the ground.  
Hoshiko, not even breaking a sweat turned to face the crowd as they cheered and applauded her. Anko came over to her as she reached for her arm and lifted it up into the air.

"Winner, Ginyoru Hoshiko!"

* * *

"How did the fight go?" A man with half his head bandaged asked his kneeling ANBU guard. The ANBU with a rat mask nodded.

"She is impressive, won in under ten minutes."

"Did she use her Kekkei Genkai?" The older man asked as he tapped his cane on the ground.

"Not that we witnessed. Are we even sure she has it?" The male ANBU asked his leader as the man nodded.

"The first stage is impeccable chakra control and retention."

"She was able to mask her chakra signature completely, even I couldn't sense her until she revealed herself." The ANBU explained as the elderly man rubbed his chin.

"She might be doing it unintentionally. We must test her, come to me in three days with her observations and I shall give you your mission; but make sure that no one knows you are tailing her."

"Danzo-sama," the ANBU enquired as Danzo inclined his head. "May I ask why we are even bothering with this child?"

Danzo chuckled deeply, "that child is the last of her clan. The Mizukiri is a weapon that, if used in the right way can turn the tide of war. Her entire clan was wiped out for this ability, it was deemed…to great to be used by one village. And we now have the only remaining person who can be our greatest weapon in our plan."

"I understand." The ANBU.

"Go, and do not be found out." Danzo ordered.

"Hai." The ANBU disappeared in a puff of smoke as Danzo leaned back in his chair, he laced his fingers together and held them under his nose he exhaled deeply and smirked.

 _Yes, Ginyoru Hoshiko will be a great asset._

XxX

Hoshiko was lying on the soft grass in the training ground that she hadn't been to in years. Once she had joined her team they always trained on the grounds on the other side of Konoha, now she was reminiscing about her younger years when she would spend hours upon hours training with her kunai and shuriken. She was happy and sad at the same time.  
She had been the only one in her team to become Chuunin. Daisuke and Ichiro had reassured her saying that she deserved it and she was the only reason they had passed the first two tests anyway, and now Hoshiko was all alone. She didn't have a team anymore; she was supposed to be reporting to the Hokage tomorrow so that they could decide with what to do with her. She was only eleven; she was nowhere near old enough to become anything. She thought to her eternal rival, Uchiha Itachi; he was an ANBU. Maybe she could try that? Train harder then she ever had before and become the best of the best.

She was also sad that her father couldn't be here to see her become a Chuunin. He had died a year and a half ago on a mission. He had been part of an ANBU team scouting for information when there had been an accident, a mudslide of some sort, and because her father wasn't a Shinobi he didn't have the proper training to defend himself and as a result of this, he had died. There was a large hole in Hoshiko's heart where her father should be.

Hoshiko's train of thought caused her to frown, her father had never told her of her Kekkei Genkai and she was too terrified to ask her mother. Hiroka had wanted Hoshiko to quit being a Kunoichi the second her father had been proclaimed dead. Hiroka was scared that the same would happen to her daughter if she continued down this path; but Hoshiko didn't back down. She faced her mother and said that she would never run from a anything, that she would honor her father's memory by becoming a strong Kunoichi. It had taken Hiroka a few weeks, but finally she agreed to let Hoshiko continue on.

Hoshiko wondered what her father would say to her if he could see her now; would he be proud of her? Would he have wanted her to quit being a Kunoichi too? Would he have finally told her about her Kekkei Genkai after all these years of being left in the dark? It wasn't like Hoshiko had never tried to figure out what her Kekkei Genkai was, she had resorted to going to the library and scanning through countless books about different clans throughout the world, but everything pointed her to dead ends. Her clan had been very secretive and never wanted anyone to know about what abilities or weaknesses they had, Hoshiko had given up on that search rather quickly.

Hoshiko ran her fingers through the soft grass as her silver eyes slid shut, she listened to all the sounds around her; she could hear the birds, the scuttling of animals and the gentle caress of the wind as it blew through the grass. A week had passed since her promotion; she had received a beautiful necklace from her mother, a silver gemstone that matched the colour of her eyes and for her own gift she had decided to chop off a good sum of her hair. Now that she was a Chuunin, she would be going on more dangerous missions, and having long hair was a risk and a nuisance. It now sat just an inch below her shoulders. Her forehead protector was tied proudly to her face with her hair fluffed over it. Her brand new flak jacket was clad on her body with pride. Hoshiko sighed in contempt; she could fall asleep right now, if she really wanted too.

"I saw your fight." A voice said, startling her. She readied a kunai as she sat up and narrowed her eyes at the intruder. The figure was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest and a playful smile on his face. He was tall, and older than her, with short tousled dark hair, large deep-set eyes and a broad nose. Something felt familiar about the boy but Hoshiko couldn't quite place it.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded off him as she stood up. Her kunai was still gripped tightly in her hand as she watched the boy walk out from beneath the trees and into the clearing.

"Still as bitter as ever, I see. You were pretty grouchy last time I saw you too." He said mockingly as Hoshiko narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

"You know," the boy said as he approached her, "this is private training ground area." Hoshiko's eyes widened a fraction as she gaped at him.

"What? No its not!"

"Uh-huh. This is Training Ground eleven; it belongs to the Uchiha clan for their Police Force members."

Hoshiko felt her cheeks flare up at the embarrassment of trespassing and not even realizing it. The boy suddenly barked out a laugh and waved his hand. "Bah, don't worry about it, kid. They never really use it anymore; got you scared though, didn't I?" He said as he waggled his brows. Hoshiko continued to stare at him with a curious expression. His dark eyes darted down to the kunai still gripped in her small fist. "I'm not going to hurt you, kid, relax jeez." He said as he flopped down onto the grass. Hoshiko had half a mind to leave the training ground and go somewhere else to have peace and quiet; but the boy intrigued her, and plus, it had been a long time since someone had taken an interest into talking to her, excluding her teammates. She placed the kunai back in her leg holster as she crouched down onto the grass.

"Who are you?" Hoshiko asked, repeating her previous question. The boy glanced over at her and gave her thumbs up.

"Uchiha Shisui."

If the look Hoshiko had given Shisui when he had told her about the training ground was comical, the one she displayed now was down right hilarious. Her face scrunched up and her lips pursed as she turned her face away. Shisui laughed at her.

"Hate the Uchiha that much, do you?" He inquired as Hoshiko tensed. Her cheeks flushed once more, Shisui noted that it didn't really take much for the girl to become embarrassed or riled up. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, a bad trait for some Shinobi.

"I don't hate the Uchiha," she grumbled as she picked out a few blades of grass.

"Just one in particular then, eh?" Shisui winked at her as Hoshiko's mouth parted in realization. She pointed a finger at him.

"You—you're the boy who was spying on me with Itachi-baka!" Hoshiko recognized him now. He had indeed been the boy with Itachi all those years ago. Shisui laughed.

"Itachi-baka?" He held his stomach as Shisui delved into hysterics. "I've got to remember to use that one on him," he said in between chuckles. Hoshiko continued to glare at him as Shisui sent her a playful smile. Something tugged at Hoshiko's features, and slowly, her mouth turned up into a smile as she giggled. She didn't know why, but she liked Shisui; he wasn't like all the other Uchiha, like Itachi. "Wow, didn't know you could smile, Hoshiko-chan. It's nice to know you aren't like my stoic, butthead cousin, Itachi." Shisui said with another wink as Hoshiko felt a warm bubble in her stomach at the sort of compliment; she then realized something else.

"You know my name," she stated in awe as Shisui looked at her with a smirk.

"Of course I do, I told you I watched your fight."

"You also stalked me when I was seven," Hoshiko deadpanned.

"Ah, ah! That was all Itachi-baka!" Shisui defended as Hoshiko laughed again. "Though, keep training like you are, and maybe one day you'll surpass Itachi." Shisui stated to her as Hoshiko went silent and stared up at the boy. It was the first time that anyone had ever told her something like that, when she told her teammates that it was her life's mission to surpass Itachi one day, they had laughed at her and said that she had no chance, the boy was already in ANBU; but that just drove Hoshiko more.

Hoshiko sensed another chakra signature before Shisui did, which was impressive in itself. Her head turned to the right, three seconds before Shisui did as they both watched a figure land in the clearing. Hoshiko felt her annoyance flare up, as Itachi didn't even give her a second glance as he met Shisui's onyx gaze.

"Shisui, we have a clan meeting." Itachi said. He was still dressed in his ANBU gear, with his black shirt and long pants, his grey armor covering his chest, forearms, shins and back.

"Hai, hai; it's always a clan meeting, that's all we ever do nowadays," Shisui complained as Hoshiko's mouth twitched into a small smile.

"If we're late again—"

"I know, I know," Shisui cut Itachi off as the younger Uchiha's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "I'm going to be pinned to the wall and have stones pelted at me." He waved his hand dismissively as Hoshiko's eyes widened; she hadn't known the Uchiha to be so…violent with menial punishments.

"Shisui," Itachi said warningly as the older Uchiha laughed and looked over at Hoshiko.

"I'm just kidding!" he exclaimed. "No, but seriously, Fugaku-san will have my head if we're late. Ja ne, Hoshiko-chan!" Shisui called as he waved at her. Hoshiko was only able to nod at him as Shisui leapt off into the nearby trees. Her intense silver gaze moved over to the remaining Uchiha as she met his obsidian gaze. Hoshiko felt her breath get caught in her throat; this was the first time that she and Itachi had been in a five-meter perimeter in years. The boy stood before her was everything that she strived to be; intelligent, powerful and courageous.

Though after talking with Shisui, Hoshiko didn't feel the intense need to strangle him when she saw him, she saw a boy that was the same age as her, but had a heavier responsibility and duties. Hoshiko realized that Itachi didn't ask to be a genius, he didn't ask to be born into the Uchiha clan, and he certainly didn't ask to be stripped of his childhood.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Ginyoru-san." Itachi nodded to her as he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hoshiko sat for another hour in the training ground, wondering why the hell Itachi had been so civil to her when she was nothing but horrible to him; which in turn made her feel guilty about being so mean to him.

* * *

"I'm home!" Hoshiko called out into the warm house. The nights in Konoha were growing shorter and colder, signaling that winter was near. It wouldn't be too long before it began to snow; Hoshiko loved the snow.

"Welcome home, darling," Hiroka called out as Hoshiko removed her sandals and coat and draped it over the rack and headed into the kitchen to see her mother preparing dinner. "How was your day?" she asked as Hoshiko folded her legs over the pillow and sat at the table.

"Fine, I just went to see Daisuke and Ichiro; they're training hard once again." Hoshiko sighed as her mother patted her on the head gently.

"Don't be sad, Hoshiko-chan. You'll be placed on another team soon enough, don't you want to be an ANBU?" Her mother inquired as Hoshiko nodded and lay her chin on the table.

"Hai." She replied. Hoshiko's mother chuckled at her daughter's antic as she placed the dinner in front of her.

"Eat up, darling, you need to be strong if you're going to surpass Itachi-kun one day." Hoshiko felt her stomach churn at Itachi's name as she thanked her mother for the meal and they ate together, talking about memories of when Hoshiko was a child.

* * *

Hoshiko was snoring quietly as the first rays of sunlight crept through her thin blinds; she mumbled something quietly in her sleep and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.

Itachi stared at the sleeping back of Hoshiko for a few seconds and then turned and glanced around her room. It was simple, with a single bed, a desk in the corner and a dresser decorated with framed pictures. Itachi, quietly stepped over to the photo's as he peered down at them. The first one was of Hoshiko and her family when she was a baby; a second one of Hoshiko when she had just entered the academy; Hoshiko had a furrowed brow in this one, as she looked less then pleased at the camera. Another photo was of her finally graduating from the academy, she was smiling at the camera while her parents stood beside her. Her last two photos were special, the first one was of her Genin team, her sensei, Nara Aki stood behind them with a thumbs up at the camera while Daisuke and Ichiro had their arms slung around each other and Hoshiko was slightly to the left of them, smirking into the camera. This was before they had all become close friends. The last photo was of Hoshiko's father. Itachi knew that he had died a few years ago, his gaze travelled back to the sleeping Hoshiko as he sighed and walked up to her.

Itachi reached out and poked her in the shoulder.

"Five more minutes." He heard her groan as she stirred under the blanket. Itachi cursed his predicament silently. He had only been instructed to leave her the message of being summoned to the Hokage tower, he had intended to leave it with her mother but Hiroka had been leaving to go to work and had allowed him into the house.

Itachi poked her again as Hoshiko rolled over, "Alright, I'm getting up!" she said in exasperation as the cover was brought down.

There was a second where silver and black met, both eleven year olds stared at each other in bewilderment at the situation. Hoshiko blinked once; twice, trying to gauge whether what she was seeing was imaginary or real.

"Ginyo—"

" _What the_ hell _are you doing here!_ " She screeched. If Itachi had not been a trained Shinobi and wasn't used to such loud noises he would've felt the need to cover his ears.

"Ginyo—"

"Get out, pervert!" She shouted at him. Itachi frowned at her, he had never been called anything of the sort in his life, and he didn't want her to start spreading rumors about him. Itachi held her glare as he nodded.

"I will wait for you in the kitchen, I have an important matter to discuss with you." He said politely as he turned around and left her room, shutting the door behind him. Once Itachi was gone Hoshiko continued to stare at the closed door, wondering what the hell had just happened, she had woken up to find Uchiha Itachi standing not three feet from her bed, poking her to wake up. She rubbed her eyes and flopped back down onto her comfy bed, throwing the cover over her face once more.

"I recommend not going back to sleep, Ginyoru-san." Itachi's voice, muffled through the door spoke to her as Hoshiko grabbed the nearest thing to her, which was her alarm clock and threw it at the door. It ricochet off the door and clattered to the ground loudly.

"Shut up!"

* * *

Once Hoshiko was dressed and ready for the day, she exited her room. She had deliberately taken her time. (It had taken her exactly twenty-one minutes and fifteen seconds, not that Itachi was counting.) Hoshiko was tying on her forehead protector as she saw Itachi standing stoically in her kitchen. He had his back to her, and was currently staring out of the window into the street below. The floorboard creaked under her foot as Itachi's head inclined, he acknowledged her presence as he turned slowly to face her. Hoshiko studied the boy before her; he looked much older then his eleven years, and acted like he was already an old man. Now that she was seeing him up close for the first time in years, she finally got to see all the little details of his face. His hair was longer, and pulled back into a low ponytail, his front bangs now touched his chin and his forehead protector peeked through his hair. His face had thinned and elongated from when they were six and seven, he no longer held any baby fat in his cheeks and two small stress lines had appeared on his face, going from the bridge of his nose to half an inch down. He was still taller than her…nearly everyone was still taller than Hoshiko; but still, Itachi was nearly a head taller than her.

"So are you going to tell me why you broke into my house?" Hoshiko asked as she went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of water. It was lucky that Hoshiko had been facing away from the Uchiha; otherwise she would've seen the blazing crimson irises of Itachi's Sharingan narrowing at her in annoyance.

"I didn't break into your house, your mother permitted me to come speak with you," Itachi explained as his red orbs faded into their normal inky black. Hoshiko turned around and leaned back on her counter.

"Uh-huh and you didn't even think to knock on my door? Could've saved yourself a very embarrassing encounter." Hoshiko said with a sadistic grin on her face. Itachi remained impassive to her comment but Hoshiko could see the slight tensing of his jaw. "Whatever, Uchiha, so what's this oh so important message that couldn't possibly wait until a decent hour of the day?" Hoshiko asked as she sipped on her water.

"The Hokage request's your presence in his office."

"And he sent you all the way here to tell me that?" Hoshiko quirked a brow as Itachi nodded.

"He did, so might I suggest that we head there now." Itachi said as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

"Always so serious, Uchiha." Hoshiko mused as she sat down and began pulling her sandals onto her feet.

"I have to be." He replied shortly as Hoshiko had half a mind to make another snide remark but held her tongue.

 _I guess being an asshole just comes naturally then,_ she thought to herself as Itachi moved passed her and stepped out into the street. Once she was done she grabbed her flak jacket and zipped it up and locked the door behind her. Itachi was waiting for her as she faced him, then scoffed and walked in the direction of the Hokage tower. Itachi followed behind, allowing her the space that she desired. He watched as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her flak jacket as she stared at something ahead of her.

* * *

The two arrived at the Hokage tower, Hoshiko was the first one to reach the door as she raised her hand and knocked three times against the hard wood. There was a pause for a few seconds.

"Come in," came the reply as Hoshiko gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open. Itachi followed behind as she sent him a curious look as to why he was still here; surely he had important ANBU things to attend to? Hoshiko studied the old man behind the desk, the long pipe sticking out between his lips as he drew a long breath and puffed it out. He finished writing on a stack of paper as his assistant folded them up and hurried out of the room.

"Hokage-sama," Hoshiko bowed her head as Itachi did the same next to her. Hiruzen studied his two Shinobi as he smirked and pulled the pipe out of his mouth.

"Hoshiko-chan, how are recovering after you exam?" The older man asked her as Hoshiko's brow furrowed.

"I'm fine."

Hiruzen nodded as he rose from his chair and walked around his long desk and came to a stop in front of the two children. He glanced from Itachi's stern gaze to Hoshiko's inquisitive one as he smirked.

"I believe, that in time you will be able to join ANBU, but as of right now, your skills are still too low."

Hoshiko winced from the blow, and what made it worse was that her arch enemy was standing right next to her, no doubt relishing in the fact that the Hokage had just called her weak. "Many of the higher ups were pleased with your performance in the exams and can see your potential to become a great Kunoichi, Hoshiko-chan."

Hoshiko felt her spirits lifted a fraction but she still couldn't understand where the old man was going with his speech. "We have come to an agreement that you shall be placed under the tutelage of Uchiha Itachi, you are both of the same age and you can learn a great deal from him. He'll be able to provide the knowledge and experience of being in ANBU."

"Hokage-sama!" Hoshiko cried as she extended her arm out to point at Itachi. "I can't have him mentor me, I'll end up killing him!"

"You can try." A quiet voice said from behind her as Hoshiko spun around, her eyes ablaze.

"You bastard! I'll show you—" Hoshiko was about to tackle Itachi to the ground when he disappeared from view and she suddenly felt her legs get swept out from underneath her as she face planted the floor. There was a chuckle from the Hokage as he returned to his seat.

"I'm sure the both of you will learn to get along. You're dismissed." He said, returning to his work as Itachi turned his gaze back down to the sulking girl on the floor who was rubbing her nose and furiously pouting. Itachi bowed to the Hokage as he shuffled over to the door and held it open for Hoshiko as she wiped herself down and stiffly bowed to the Hokage and exited the room.

She didn't glance at Itachi as she strutted down the hall; the Uchiha guessed that her pride had been severely wounded.

* * *

They exited the building as Hoshiko crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Itachi with hate straight from the pits of Hell.

"I shall begin my assessment of your skill level tomorrow morning, come to Training ground four at five." Itachi ordered as Hoshiko's jaw dropped.

"In the morning?" She exclaimed in revulsion, "couldn't you have picked a better time like when the _sun_ is up, maybe?"

"If you wish to try and enter ANBU on your own, be my guest," he said with a mocking tone as Hoshiko balled up her fists and had to resist the urge to stomp her foot on the ground.

"You're such an ass!" She hissed at him. "Do _not_ expect me to call you _s_ _enpai_." She said with loathing. Itachi chuckled without giving away any emotion as he met her silver glare.

"You seem to think that you are the only one who isn't happy with this predicament, I'll see you tomorrow Ginyoru-san." He inclined his head politely as he leapt away. Hoshiko ground her teeth as she tried to find her old team and tell her about the horrible situation that she had found herself in.


	3. Training Hassles

_Training Hassles_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Itachi came to a stop in the center of training ground four. His eyes darted around the empty clearing as he sighed, putting a hand to his forehead and rubbing it in annoyance. He had left his home at eight minutes to five and it had taken him just over seven and a half minutes to get here. Itachi thought that maybe Hoshiko wouldn't show up and just save him the trouble of teaching her. He couldn't believe he was stuck with the menial job of overseeing Hoshiko's training when she clearly didn't want anything to do with him; someone would have a much easier time with trying to get through her thick skull. Maybe that was why the Hokage appointed him; he was the only one that would probably be able to stand her rage and insults continuously thrown at him. Or maybe they were hoping that his calm exterior might rub off on her; if it did, Itachi would give up dango sticks for a week.

Itachi would wait five minutes, and then he would go to her home and drag her here, it was a nuisance but the Hokage had tasked him with a mission; and Uchiha Itachi never failed a mission, even if the mission was as bothersome as babysitting a brat.

Itachi shuffled on his feet.

"Hiya!" A shout tore through the serenity of peaceful morning as he sidestepped to the left as a figure went flying passed him and spun around two meters ahead. Itachi didn't bat an eye as Hoshiko looked peeved as she sighed.

"How did you dodge that? I thought I had you!" She exclaimed. Itachi felt a twitch on his lip but didn't smirk as he held her gaze.

"If you are trying to conduct a sneak attack on your opponent, it is best if you do not shout as you are attacking; it gives you away." He explained as Hoshiko's face turned a bright red.

"I—I know that! I was just testing you, baka!" she argued, her voice quivering in embarrassment.

Itachi didn't comment on the fact that he hadn't been able to sense her at all, it was only when she had screamed that he had even realized she was behind him. It intrigued him but not enough to earn a well-deserved praise.

"I assure you that my evasive skills are on par with that of the Yondaime."

Hoshiko 'tsk'd' and folded her arms over her chest.

"Still think you're so perfect," she grumbled under her breath but Itachi's keen hearing heard her.

"Thank you."

"I didn't meant it as a compliment, you baka!" She howled at him in aggravation.

"You may not have meant it as a compliment, that doesn't mean I can't accept it as one," he replied as Hoshiko's anger rose astronomically. Her arms shook with anger.

"You're such an asshole! I hate you!" she screeched at him. Itachi calmly took her insults; he was beginning to remember why Hoshiko failed to make friends as a child, and it wasn't just because of her family heritage.

"If you insist on continuing this childish behavior then I can only assume that you no longer wish to become an ANBU?" Itachi stated to her. Hoshiko froze on the spot as all her anger diminished in a second. Itachi didn't say anything else to her as Hoshiko relaxed her body. "My role is to help you understand what it is that you wish to accomplish, I cannot do that with you berating me every couple of seconds for something that I have not done. The Hokage has obviously seen some great potential in you and it would be a shame to put that all to waste because of some childish grudge that you hold against me. Now, would you like to begin?"

If Hoshiko had been embarrassed about having Itachi dodge her attack, it was nothing to what she felt now. She felt like her own mother or father had just scolded her. As she thought over Itachi's words, it was hard to believe that he was the same age as her, he was eleven but he acted like he was already twenty years old.

If Hoshiko was going to prove herself, she had to start taking it seriously; she was a Chuunin now, her goal was to be ANBU, she would never become one if she held onto this petty grudge. Sure Itachi would always be her rival in a sense and she would always try to beat him but if she even wanted to come close to the level that he was on now, she should try and listen to him.

"Fine, go ahead _Senpai_ ," she waved her hand dismissively and spoke with a slight condescending tone as Itachi sighed.

During the time that the two had been arguing the sun had just begun to poke over the horizon, bathing the training ground in a dewy pre-dawn light. Itachi didn't comment on the fact that she didn't even have the nerve to apologise to him, he wasn't about to have another pointless argument with her, it was like arguing with a brick wall that had three layers. Hoshiko was the most stubborn and infuriating person that he knew, and he assumed that he must've done something horrible in a past life for him to end up in this position right now.

"I have been told that your chakra control is near perfection, am I correct?" He asked her as Hoshiko gave him a sly smirk.

"You bet, best in the class." Itachi had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at her.

"One of the things that you can use to your advantage of being a master at chakra control would be the ability to mask your chakra signature. You seem to do it pretty well already without much effort until you exert energy in striking."

"Wait," Hoshiko said as she held up her hand, "are you saying that you couldn't even sense me when I snuck up on you?" She asked. Itachi didn't want to nod, but he had to. A grin came over her face as she smirked triumphantly.

"I would like you to practice this ability."

"I don't even know how I did it, it just comes naturally to me."

"This is why I am here. Trust me, Ginyoru-san." Itachi said sincerely.

There was a silent moment between the two pre-teens as Hoshiko finally nodded and formed the rat seal and shut her eyes. "Focus on suppressing your chakra, making it so that you wish to become invisible."

Itachi activated his Sharingan as his eyes blazed crimson; he could now clearly see her chakra. It flowed healthily through her body; he was amazed at what he saw. Hoshiko was actually drawing in her chakra from around her body into her center, once there she was able to mask it so that it was only a tiny flicker, it would be impossible to detect without the Sharingan or Byakugan.

"Am I doing it?" He heard her ask, one of her eyes was open as she met his Sharingan gaze. He nodded and deactivated his Sharingan; as he had deduced, he could not sense her Chakra. If he were not staring at her, he wouldn't even know that she was there.

"Hold this until you no longer can," he ordered. He heard her splutter as she growled but shut her eyes again and went back to concentrating.

* * *

Twenty-two minutes and forty-six seconds was how long Hoshiko could mask her chakra for. As she reached her limit the sweat had built up on her forehead and she was panting hard. She hunched over on her knees and wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

"Impressive," Itachi commented. Hoshiko lifted her head, her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

"Really?" She asked in astonishment. Itachi nodded.

"There are not many Shinobi who can do what you do. If you continue to hone this skill then eventually you should be able to use it subconsciously. You would be the most recommended infiltrator for missions."

Hoshiko felt her chest swell with pride, her first compliment from Uchiha Itachi; she never expected to get one from him. She kept her excitement to herself; she didn't want Itachi to think that what he said had affected her.

"Now run one-hundred laps." Itachi ordered.

"What?" Hoshiko asked, infuriated.

"If you truly want to master this technique, you need to wear down your stamina. From what I saw of your fight with the Suna Genin, you were able to use three high classes Jutsu's and not break a sweat. Having this ability can lead to a great advantage over your enemy. You have chakra reserves far greater than mine but none of that counts if you can't continue to use if you're out of breath, now go."

"You watched my fight?" She asked. Itachi wanted to berate her for the fact that out of everything he had just explained to her, the only thing she got out of that was that he had indeed watched her fight.

"I was manning the guard tower." He replied to her, appeasing her.

"Whatever you say, _senpai_." She said with a smirk. Itachi crossed his arms as he sent her a swift glare as she chuckled and stretched out her limbs. She then took off at a low jog around the training ground.

* * *

"Hit all of these targets." Itachi told her as he stood back in the clearing. Hoshiko was gazing around at the targets littered around the forest. There were around fifteen targets; some strung up on tree trunks, others on the ground and one was behind a large boulder. She turned to him.

"That's ridiculous, I can't hit all of them in one go." She argued as Itachi sighed and walked passed her. Hoshiko followed him with her eyes as Itachi took out eight kunai, four in each hand as he bent his knees, readying himself. Hoshiko seriously doubted that Itachi would be able to make all of the hits, who in their right mind would be able to hit all of them in one go?

Itachi sprung up into the air, spinning and releasing his kunai as they shot out of his hands at lightning speed. Hoshiko's eyes couldn't keep up with the weapons, but she could hear the thunk of the kunai impaling the wood and the clashing of them as Itachi landed gracefully on the ground. The young Uchiha turned his head to look over his shoulder at Hoshiko. The girl was staring at the targets in awe as she saw kunai's imbedded in each of them. Hoshiko rushed around the boulder and was even more impressed when she saw a kunai in the one there; she poked her head back around to gaze at Itachi.

"That was cool." She muttered, her pride wounded at the comment. Itachi smirked and folded his arms and stood back.

"Now you do it," he said to her as Hoshiko swallowed loudly. Kunai throwing had never been her strong point, her aim was terrible most times, her strength came in the power of her Ninjutsu and stamina. Hoshiko walked over to the spot where Itachi had been standing as she readied her weapons. She took a good look around the area, trying to memorize where all of the targets were as she sucked in a deep breath and focused her mind on the targets.

She sprung up into the air, twisting her body as she threw her kunai, she was desperately trying to remember where the targets had been but for the most part she was just throwing blind.

Itachi narrowly dodged a kunai that had flown by his head by her poor aiming; if he hadn't activated his Sharingan in the nick of time he would've had a nice hole through his head.

Hoshiko landed on the ground as she surveyed her work, she deadpanned when she saw that out of the fifteen, only three had struck, and not even in the center. She rubbed her head and spun around to face Itachi who still had his Sharingan blazing in annoyance, it didn't take long for Hoshiko to see the kunai impaled to the tree behind his head.

"Oops," she said sheepishly. Itachi sighed and disengaged his Sharingan.

"Again." He said. Hoshiko nodded with a new determination as she gathered her kunai and tried again.

* * *

After hours of practice, Hoshiko had managed to bump up her score of three to eight, she was finally figuring out where all of the targets were but she was having difficulty aiming for the ones that were slightly curved out of the way. She hit the floor and couldn't hold her weight on her legs anymore so she fell onto all fours. She gasped for breath as she looked at the targets; on that last one she had managed to hit nine. She grinned as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. Hoshiko glanced over at her shoulder and saw Itachi sitting on the floor with his back against the tree trunk. She wiped the sweat from her brow and stood up, her legs were shaking but she pushed through it and shuffled over to him, she stretched her arms over her head.

"Not bad for a first day then, huh?" She said with a Cheshire grin. Itachi scoffed lightly as he stood up and brushed his clothes down.

"I thought you would've done better." He replied as Hoshiko froze and pointed her finger at him accusingly.

"What? Say that again you baka!" She threatened as Itachi faced away from her looking smug.

"You state that you're going to be better than me, but all I see is a girl that has too big an ego for her head." Hoshiko's cheeks flared up as she stomped her foot on the ground.

"Just you wait, Itachi-baka!" She yelled, turning away from him also. She heard Itachi laugh quietly.

"So that's where Shisui got it from," he mumbled, shaking his head. "We're done for today," he said loudly, getting her attention. "Meet me here tomorrow at six." He ordered. Before Hoshiko could complain once more about the time Itachi had already disappeared from her sight.

She ground her teeth together painfully, thinking about Itachi's words as she picked up her kunai and resumed her training.

* * *

Hoshiko was walking through the market street on her way home, it was nighttime and the gaslights were lighting the narrow streets as she weaved through the throngs of people; families going out for a meal or a group of friends gossiping at something or other. Hoshiko stared at the happy families, reminiscing about her own times with her family. She remembered the outings that her, her mother and father would have every other night; they would treat her to dumplings and ramen and ask her about her day at the academy. Even though Hoshiko refused to talk about the children in her class she was always eager to fill them in on new jutsu's that she had learnt.

A woman near the middle of the street caught Hoshiko's eye as she hurried over to her, "Okaa-san!" She called, waving her hand.

Hiroka turned, recognizing the familiar tone of her daughter as she smiled at her. Hiroka was swamped under the numerous bags that she had in her hands and arms.

"Let me help you!" Hoshiko uttered quickly as she took nearly all of the bags from her mother as Hiroka thanked her.

"Thank you, sweetheart. How was your training today?" She asked her as Hoshiko rolled her eyes.

"It was alright, Itachi is such a know-it-all, bossing me around, telling me to do this, and do that."

"Well, he is your senpai now, you'd do well to listen to him, he can probably teach you a lot about being an ANBU." Hiroka mused as Hoshiko sighed and scrunched up her face.

"I know; that's what he said too." Hiroka laughed and patted the top of Hoshiko's head affectionately.

"I don't know why you hold onto this grudge, it's not like Itachi-kun has ever done anything to you?" Hiroka said with a sigh as Hoshiko shook her head.

"I'm making a statement!" She argued.

"And what would that be?" Her mother asked with an eyebrow quirked at her.

"That Uchiha Itachi isn't perfect! That he shouldn't be treated like a god because he graduated a little early!"

"Sweetie, no one is perfect. I mean, look at you!" Hiroka chuckled as Hoshiko gasped at her mother.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" She exclaimed.

Hiroka laughed once again. "I am on your side. I just think that maybe instead of finding something to butt heads with him about, you should try and be his friend. The two of you are very much similar."

"I am nothing like him," she said with loathing. This time it was Hiroka's turn to roll her eyes.

* * *

Hoshiko was marching though the Uchiha compound, her fists were balled up at her side and her glare was set dead ahead at the house at the end of the street. She had arrived at the training ground dead on six am, and Itachi was nowhere to be seen! She had waited for half an hour before finally marching towards the Uchiha compound, intent on dragging the stupid ANBU member by his ear to the training ground. He was the one who had made her get up at a god awful time, so he was going to bear the consequences of a pissed of Hoshiko; not that he hadn't before.

The nerve that he had to not show up with indescribable, she was seething, it wasn't like they got to choose to be around each other, but Hoshiko wasn't going to disappoint the Hokage, she wanted to prove that she could make ANBU too, she was strong, and if that meant beating Itachi to a pulp then bring it on.

Hoshiko stomped her way to the front door, she knew where Itachi lived as her mother had dragged her here one time for a dinner that Itachi's mother had invited them round for. Safe to say from Hoshiko's negativity Hiroka politely declined all other dinner invitations. Hoshiko raised her fist and bashed it against the screen door.

"Oi! Uchiha! Get out here right now!" She hollered loudly. She waited for a few seconds and then knocked once more. "Itachi-baka! You said you would train me! I can't believe you're backing out from one day, am I that much of a threat to you, huh!" Hoshiko stood back and waited patiently, she would wait here all day if she had too, but she was not going to let this slip. She couldn't believe that the perfect Uchiha Itachi had forgotten about training; Hoshiko was never going to let him live it down.

There was a sound of someone walking to the door as Hoshiko readied her stance, she was going to pounce on Itachi once he opened that door, he wasn't going to know what hit him. The door was pulled open as Hoshiko stalled when she didn't see Itachi staring at her, but rather a young boy that looked strikingly like him.

"Uh…" Hoshiko mumbled as the young Sasuke stared up at her with his wide onyx eyes.

"Are you looking for nii-san? You were yelling for him," Sasuke said to her as Hoshiko's face suddenly turned red. She didn't expect this to happen, she didn't know how to deal with young children, she had never really been good with them.

"Hai, is he here?"

"No." Sasuke replied firmly. "He's on a very important mission."

Hoshiko groaned and smacked her forehead. "I bet he did that on purpose, the baka," she growled as Sasuke tensed and pointed his little finger at her.

"Nii-san isn't an idiot! He's the best ninja in the village, he's going to be stronger the Otou-san and the Hokage one day!" Sasuke defended as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

"Whatever, twerp. I'm stronger then your brother." She said proudly, jabbing her thumb to her chest as Sasuke shook his head quickly.

"Nu-uh, no one's better then nii-san!"

"Am too!" She argued. Sasuke stomped forwards.

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Listen you little punk," Hoshiko glared at him as Sasuke matched her glare. "I'm going to beat your brother one day, and when that happens I'm going to come straight back here and make you apologise to me." Sasuke grinned and crossed his arms.

"Nii-san will never loose."

Hoshiko growled and shook her fist at the little shrimp with spikey hair, she had half a mind to throttle the little child but held herself back.

"Is that anyway to talk to a child?" A voice said from behind Hoshiko as the girl tensed and spun around. Hoshiko thought that it was either going to be the child's father or some other angry Uchiha coming to scold her, but her worries disappeared when she saw the familiar face of Shisui.

"Shisui-san!" Sasuke exclaimed with a smile as Shisui nodded to him. He grinned over at Hoshiko as the girl turned her face away from him, embarrassed. "She's looking for nii-san." Sasuke continued as Shisui walked up to Sasuke and ruffled his hair. "Shisui-san, no one is stronger than nii-san right?"

"What makes you say that?" Shisui asked the young boy as Sasuke directed his glare to Hoshiko.

"She says that she's stronger than him, but that's not true, is it?" Shisui barked out a laugh as Hoshiko felt her cheeks heat up.

"Itachi is very strong, Sasuke-kun. But you know, I'm kind of strong too, I bet I'd be able to take on him one day!" Shisui said proudly, jutting out his chest as Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, right," he grumbled as Shisui spluttered and bonked Sasuke on the head. The boy yelped in pain as he held his head as he glared up at his brother's closest friend. "Ouch!"

Shisui chuckled and turned to speak to Hoshiko when he looked at the empty spot, perplexed; his heard darted to the left and right, spotting her walking away further down the street as he waved to Sasuke.

"I've got to got! Ja ne, Sasuke!"

* * *

Hoshiko was grumbling to herself, she was so mad at Itachi for ditching her to go on a mission and not even bother telling her about it. It was something that she added to her ever long list of things that Uchiha Itachi was not perfect at.

"Oi! _Matte!_ "

Hoshiko didn't stop walking as she continued on her way to the exit of the Uchiha compound. Shisui suddenly came sprinting passed her as he skidded to a halt in front of her. Hoshiko didn't pay him any mind as she walked around him. Shisui glared at her and blocked her path once more; Hoshiko sighed in frustration and met his charcoal gaze.

"What do you want?" She snapped at him. Shisui's face changed from serious to a lazy grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh, Itachi actually asked me last night before he went on his mission to let you know in the morning that he wouldn't be here…but I kind of forgot," Shisui said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Hoshiko crossed her arms.

"I don't care." She bit back.

"Why? Isn't he training you?"

"I can train perfectly fine on my own, thank you. I don't need a babysitter." She said, walking passed him once more; she was almost at the exit when Shisui fell into step next to her with a brilliant smile on his face.

"Well, why don't I help you?"

Hoshiko scoffed loudly, "Don't you have something else to do? Why bother with someone like me?" She asked him as Shisui shrugged.

"Itachi wouldn't have asked me to inform you about his mission if he wasn't serious about your training, so I figured I can help, what's he got you doing? Breaking out of Genjutsu? Taijutsu?" Shisui pressed as Hoshiko ground her teeth together. It wasn't like she _disliked_ Shisui; it was that she didn't know how to act around people who were actually _nice_ to her. She had spent the remainder of her years at the academy fending off the bullies who didn't like her for her family heritage; even though now a few years later the village had come to accept her and her mother as residents, there were still a lot of people who didn't like her and voiced their concern about her becoming a Konoha Kunoichi. Hoshiko needed to prove to everyone that she wasn't going to betray the village like some people believed, and because of this, she tended to keep to herself and it was always strange to come across people who didn't fear her.

"Some stupid target practice." She replied finally. Shisui laughed.

"Ah, yes; I remember that. Itachi used to spend hours out there, I think he managed to hit them all within a few hours if I remember correctly."

Hoshiko's mood darkened from hearing his words, so Itachi had managed to hit all of the targets in a few hours? Hoshiko had been training for nearly half a day with it yesterday and could only hit eight. She bristled quietly as Shisui sensed her hostile feelings as he cleared his throat nervously.

"But you know, he had tons of help with the Sharingan and all. It's really difficult to do it without it." He explained, trying to reassure her somewhat. Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder at him and scoffed.

"You don't have to try and make me feel good about myself, everyone always tells me that I'll never be as good as Itachi. Even I know that it's a long shot, but it gives me something to aim for."

"Well," Shisui said matter-of-factly, "if I know Itachi, and I'm pretty sure I do; he set up that challenge for you to complete it. He wouldn't have shown it to you if he didn't think you could do it; and what better way to make him acknowledge you then to actually complete it before he gets back tomorrow, I'd bet he'd be _real_ threatened then," Shisui said with a wink. Hoshiko had come to a full stop as she faced the older Uchiha. There was a few seconds of silence before Hoshiko darted out and grasped Shisui's shirt in her hand and began dragging him along behind her.

"Let's go, we've got a lot of work to do." She said as Shisui tripped over his feet but regained his balance quickly.

" _Nani?_ "

"I'm going to beat this challenge, and you're going to help me!" Hoshiko demanded as Shisui tried to pry her grip off of him. It was no use though, the tiny girl had an iron grip and she wasn't relenting.

"Oi! Let me go now, Hoshiko-chan!" Shisui cried as Hoshiko ignored him and continued on dragging him. "Hoshiko-chan!"

* * *

"Report." Danzo ordered his ANBU as the man bowed with his rat mask covering his face.

"Hai." The ANBU raised his head slowly as he watched Danzo take a seat in his large wooden chair in their underground complex. The room was dark with only two candles casting eerie shadows across the old mans face. "As you assumed the Hokage has offered her a position in ANBU if she reaches the designated level. He has assigned Uchiha Itachi to train her."

"Hmm." Danzo mused as he rubbed his chin.

"As of now, Uchiha Shisui is with her as Itachi is away on a mission; but I suspect that she will continue to be with these two for a while." The ANBU explained as Danzo nodded.

"It will be difficult to get near the girl, I agree." Danzo tapped his fingers on his wooden cane rhythmically as he thought deeply about the situation. It was nearing five minutes before Danzo spoke once more. "We shall wait. It would be foolish to try anything with the two Uchiha brats keeping watch over her. The more time that Hoshiko suppresses her Kekkei Genkai, the easier it will be for us to force her to use it. For now, observe any signs of her Kekkei Genkai that we can put to use, I will inform _him_ about this predicament, he isn't going to like waiting but we have no choice. I have invested too much into this, we didn't plot to have her father killed for nothing." Danzo explained as his ANBU nodded.

"Danzo-sama, it would be wise to inform me about her abilities, so that I know what to look out for." The ANBU said as Danzo examined him for a second and then nodded.

"You are right." Danzo stood shakily from his chair as he walked over to a small book on a nightstand and flicked through the pages. "The Ginyoru clan is one of the most secretive clans in the world, on par with the Hyuuga; through the years I have managed to acquire information about them, and after studying the body of Ginyoru Kisho I have come to the conclusion that Hoshiko can manipulate and perfectly control her own chakra and those of whom she comes into contact with."

"Please explain," the ANBU asked. Danzo flicked through the book.

"The reason the Ginyoru clan was feared so much is their Kekkei Genkai, it gives them the ability to absorb chakra from a single touch. They can drain their victims of chakra, absorbing their memories and strength, giving them an increased power and speed boost, they can virtually become unstoppable."

The ANBU was silent as he listened.

"They can heal wounds with absorbing chakra and can maintain a permanent chakra suppression, making them brilliant stealth assassins. You can understand why they were so feared." Danzo stated with a chuckle as the ANBU nodded. "During the Third Shinobi War, Iwa recruited them to sneak into Konoha campsites and assassinate dozens of Shinobi. They were able to take the memories of battle plans and the war was almost lost because of this. It was only when the Third," Danzo sneered his name, "made the decision to shift all efforts on the clan that we were able to end the war."

Danzo went back to his chair and sat down, handing the book to his subordinate. "The Mizukiri is a feared ability yes, but it has its limitations. The amount of chakra that they absorb makes them stronger, but if they take too much the repercussions are dire; they can burn out their chakra coils, they pass out after the absorbed chakra has done it's job and their healing chakra is very coveted, which is why _he_ wants it."

"It's a blessing and a curse."

Danzo nodded. "There were reports that some of the clan started to exhibit the need to drain chakra, it can become quite addictive for them, resulting in them going on rampages and killing dozens of people."

"And this is why you wish to acquire her?"

Danzo didn't reply as the ANBU flicked onto the page of Hoshiko as a newly graduated Genin.

"She is the last of her clan, and I will obtain her power."

* * *

 **Thank you for the follows and reviews for the first two chapters! I hope you're all liking this story and trust me, it's going to be a whirlwind this story!**


	4. Arigato

_Arigato_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

 _Knock knock._

"Hoshiko-chan! Can you get the door?" Hiroka called from inside the house as Hoshiko stood up from lounging on the couch.

"Hai," Hoshiko called back lazily as she stretched out her limbs and shuffled sluggishly down the hallway. It was mid morning, the day after Hoshiko had spent the entire day training with Shisui, her body was sore but she was pleased with herself with how far she had gotten with Itachi's training.

Hoshiko reached for the sliding front door and pulled it open, the suns rays shining down on her face as she squinted and looked at the figure standing in front of her door. A smirk crept over her face as she leant back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, well; look who it is. The illusive, Uchiha Itachi." Hoshiko remarked as Itachi stood with his hands shoved into his pockets. He wasn't garbed in his usual ANBU gear that he commonly wore; instead he was dressed in his regular dark shirt with the high collar and white pants. "Come to apologise about missing my training yesterday?" Hoshiko smirked triumphantly.

"No." Itachi replied bluntly, causing Hoshiko to growl at him.

"Tsk, baka. I was waiting for you for half an hour before I had to march to your house to try and find you, only to be told that you had gone on a mission!" Hoshiko snapped at him, as Itachi remained impassive.

"I asked Shisui to inform you."

"He forgot." Hoshiko replied grouchily.

"That isn't my fault." Itachi sighed. "My brother said that he met a girl yesterday that threatened to beat him up, and that she proclaimed that she was stronger than me, do you know anything about that?"

"Not a clue, sounds strange," Hoshiko said quickly as she saw the ghost of a smile cross Itachi's face. She was so transfixed on that fact that Itachi had almost smiled at her that she failed to notice his questioning gaze.

"Ginyoru-san?" Itachi inquired. Hoshiko shook her head and waved her hand at him.

"Gah, stop with the formalities, Uchiha! Call me Hoshiko," she offered as Itachi raised one of his eyebrows at her.

"I did not realize that we had become friends." Itachi stated as Hoshiko snorted.

"We aren't friends, but every time you say it, I think of my mother," she mocked as Itachi looked nervous for a second but then nodded his head. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him as she leaned back into the house and shouted.

"I'm going out, I'll be back later!"

Hoshiko didn't wait for the reply as she shut the door behind her and beckoned Itachi who stared at her, confused.

"Where are we going?" He asked her.

"To train, baka." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I did not expect you to want to train with me." Itachi stated as Hoshiko chuckled.

"Trust me, Uchiha, you aren't my first choice, but like you said; you're the best I've got. Besides, there's something I need to show you!" She said excitedly as she leapt up onto the nearest roof. Itachi waited a few seconds, trying to process this new and improved Hoshiko as he followed after her.

* * *

Hoshiko landed in the clearing quietly as she turned around and waited for Itachi to follow her, she only had to wait a few seconds before he landed with precision and grace a few feet away from her. Itachi noticed that they were back at the target practice area, kunai were littered all over the grass; evidence of how much Hoshiko had been persevering with this challenge.

"Watch this," Hoshiko said to Itachi as the boy nodded and stepped back, from the near miss he had the other day, he didn't really fancy having another kunai thrown at his face. Hoshiko collected the kunai from the ground as she jumped up onto the boulder and relaxed her shoulders. There was a pause before she sprung up into the air and back flipped, twisting her body and releasing the kunai as Itachi could hear the _thunk thunk_ of the metal hitting their desired targets. At the last second Hoshiko released two kunai at different angles as they hit and dived down behind the boulder as Hoshiko landed back on the boulder. She looked over her shoulder at Itachi with a large smile as the Uchiha gazed around the area.

He had a hard time hiding his surprise at the fact that fourteen out of the fifteen targets he could see all had kunai's impaled on them, the only one missing was the blind spot behind the boulder. Itachi thought that there was no way Hoshiko could've learnt how to hit them all in just one day; it wasn't possible for someone without the Sharingan.

He walked around the boulder, he could feel Hoshiko's silver eyes watching him as he peered around and was astonished that there was a kunai dead in the center of the target. His head craned up to look at her smug face as she slid down the side of the boulder.

"So, still think I'm not worth the effort?" She asked as Itachi had to remember how to speak.

"How did you accomplish this?" He asked her eagerly. Hoshiko went to open her mouth to reply when another voice cut through their silence.

"Well, by the amazing tutelage of me, of course!"

The two of them searched up into the treetops as Shisui stood on a large branch grinning at the two of them. He jumped down and landed on the ground with a grunt as he swayed over to them. "Because I'm a better teacher of course," Shisui said with a lazy grin as Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his cousin; his onyx gaze drifted back to Hoshiko who was grinning at Shisui.

Itachi felt some emotion constrict within his chest at the sight of Hoshiko rushing over to Shisui and the both of them exclaiming loudly about her accomplishment. He realized that Hoshiko acted different around Shisui, she was more carefree and a completely different person; why couldn't she be more like that around him?

Itachi shook his head from his weird thoughts; he didn't need Hoshiko to act like _anything_ around him, he was now confident enough to think that she wouldn't try to stab him in the back anymore, and that was enough for him.

While the two were talking animatedly to each other, Itachi slowly walked over and folded his arms over his chest.

"So how did you do it?" Itachi asked as the pair smirked to each other.

"Watch and learn, dear cousin," Shisui remarked as he went over to a low hanging target and ripped it off the tree. Itachi wanted to berate him for destroying his well placed targets but a look from Hoshiko silenced him; and plus, he was intrigued as to what the two had been planning. Shisui walked a little further away from them as Hoshiko turned her back on him. "Ready?" Shisui called out as Hoshiko nodded her head. The two disillusioned Itachi as Shisui tossed the target into the air. There was a second where Hoshiko did nothing, but as if a fire had been lit from beneath her she spun around, a kunai in her hand and without missing a beat she threw the kunai as it struck the target dead in the center. Shisui 'whooped' as the target fell to the ground as Itachi furrowed his brows in confusion.

Shisui bounded over to Hoshiko and high fived her as they both looked amused at Itachi's expression.

"I don't understand?" Itachi said hesitantly.

"We found out that Hoshiko-chan here has a pretty nifty ability." Shisui said proudly as Hoshiko nodded her head, agreeing with him. Itachi glanced between the two, waiting for them to explain.

"I can implant my chakra onto objects and it acts as a marker." She said proudly as Itachi's eyebrows rose in surprise. He suddenly activated his Sharingan as his onyx eyes flashed crimson as he surveyed the area. As Itachi looked around, he could see tiny little dots on each of the targets that were familiar to Hoshiko's chakra signature. "It was how I was able to hit all of the targets so easily, once I've marked the target it's like a beacon pulsing at me, I could probably do it with my eyes closed." She grinned as Shisui rolled his eyes.

"Yeah and last time you tried that you almost impaled me to the tree!" Shisui argued as Hoshiko bowed her head in embarrassment.

"She's done that to me also," Itachi added as Hoshiko stared at the two of them in outrage.

"Ok, so I'm not so great with aiming!"

"Try terrible." Shisui grumbled as Hoshiko bonked him on the head.

"Shut up _baka_! I just hit every single one of those stupid targets!"

"With help." Shisui retorted as Hoshiko pointed her finger at him.

"You two have the Sharingan! It's basically cheating."

"And yours isn't?" Shisui muttered sarcastically. Hoshiko rolled her eyes in exasperation as she faced Itachi.

"Well? What now? I passed your little challenge, got anything harder?" Hoshiko mocked him as Itachi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I didn't have anything planned, I did not expect you to have progressed enough to complete it," Itachi admitted as Hoshiko felt annoyed at the fact that Itachi didn't believe in her.

"Well, way to boost her self-esteem," Shisui said with a roll of the eyes as Itachi turned his threatening gaze onto his bigheaded cousin. Shisui tossed his arm around Hoshiko's shoulder as she deftly sidestepped away form him, giving him a hostile look as the older Uchiha chuckled. "Well, in any case, I'd be happy to treat you to ramen for your accomplishment, Hoshiko-chan," Shisui said with a mock bow. Hoshiko tried to hide her smile but failed.

"Where is my invite?" Itachi asked irritably as Shisui and Hoshiko stared at him. Shisui was the one to break the silence, "but you don't like ramen." He said, as Itachi remained impassive. "Itachi," Shisui said with a grin, "would you like to come and get ramen with us?" Shisui asked.

"No." Itachi replied firmly as Shisui deadpanned. Hoshiko laughed at Shisui's reaction as the older boy folded his arms crossly and gave Itachi a sly look.

"I bet if we were going for dango it'd be a _whole_ different story, ne?" Shisui waggled his defined brows as Itachi turned his head away. This was news to Hoshiko, she didn't realized that Itachi like dango.

"I never expected Itachi to like dango," Hoshiko mused, tapping her chin as Shisui shoved her with his elbow.

"He doesn't just like dango, he _loves_ it, don't you cousin?" Shisui said teasingly. Itachi didn't comment on the fact, he faced Shisui with an irritated look.

"Go and eat your ramen, baka." Itachi grumbled as he jumped off into the trees.

* * *

Shisui and Hoshiko strolled through Konoha slowly; Shisui was talking animatedly about one of his missions he had gone on when he was younger, right after he had become a Genin. Hoshiko was listening intently and nodded her head at the right times and laughed when required.

"I of course, was the only one able to take the Kiri-nin down; being so exceptionally skilled and all," Shisui said as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. It was obvious that he was trying to impress her but it wasn't working.

The two arrived outside of Ichiraku's as they moved the hanging cloth out of the way and greeted the old man.

"Ohayo!" The two said in unison as the old man turned, a broad smile on his face.

"Welcome, what will it be?" Teuchi asked as Hoshiko and Shisui took a seat at the bar.

"Two pork ramen's," Shisui said with a grin as Hoshiko sent him a glare at ordering for her; granted that was what she was going to eat anyway but still, the nerve the Uchiha had was on another level entirely. She sort of missed the quiet and bristling that came with Itachi.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi exclaimed.

Shisui and Hoshiko fell into a silence for a few minutes before Hoshiko broke it with a question.

"Ne, Shisui?" The older boy turned his dark gaze on her as Hoshiko continued to stare ahead. "Why is Itachi so…serious all the time?"

Shisui sighed and picked at something under his nails, "That's a long story, Hoshiko-chan." Shisui could feel her piercing silver gaze on him. "Maybe better suited for Itachi to tell himself, he'd be able to explain it better." Shisui said to her as Hoshiko furrowed her brows and leaned on the table.

"Like he'd ever open up to me," she grumbled. Shisui's mouth turned up into a smile as he leaned closer to her. Hoshiko stared at him suspiciously.

"Sounds like you want him to, ne?" He winked at her; Shisui enjoyed watching her cheeks flare up as it spread around her face as she looked away.

"Wha-what? No I don't!" She stuttered, hiding her face.

"Ah! I can tell, Hoshiko-chan." Shisui chuckled as the girl folded her arms.

"Baka." She grumbled to him. Shisui laughed harder at her reaction as Teuchi laid out their ramen bowls.

"Itadakimasu!" Shisui exclaimed as he dug into his ramen.

"Itadakimasu," Hoshiko mumbled under her breathe and began eating. There was another silence from them as the two ate their meal.

When Shisui had almost finished his second bowl of ramen there was a voice from outside, "Shisui-san?"

Hoshiko and Shisui both turned and saw a young girl of the same age as Hoshiko, with long dark brown hair and large doe eyes. She was clothed in a long purple shirt with the Uchiha emblem on the back.

"Hi, Izumi," Shisui greeted. Hoshiko went back to facing forwards. She remembered Izumi from her academy classes, if memory served her right; she wasn't that special, she wasn't strong and quick like Hoshiko and tended to fawn over Itachi a lot, which was why Hoshiko never really hung out with her. Although the most memorable thing about the girl was that she had awakened her Sharingan at age five, but she couldn't properly use it as it drained too much of her chakra.

"I'm headed over to the Naka Shrine for the meeting, are you coming?" She asked as Shisui slurped his ramen and then slammed the bowl down.

"Damn it, I forgot. Itachi was supposed to remind me the _teme_ ," Shisui growled. He threw a smile over at Hoshiko as he rose. "Sorry to run out on you, I'll see you later!" He called and left in a second. Hoshiko was still staring at the spot Shisui had been sitting as she tried to figure out what was missing from the scene.

"Here's the bill." Teuchi waved the paper in front of Hoshiko's face as the young girl gritted her teeth and threw her head back.

" _Shisui!_ "

* * *

Several months passed in Konoha, and now they were in the full brunt of winter, snow covered the ground and rooftops and the nights were freezing. Missions were scarce but Hoshiko liked it that way, she preferred the snow to the hot Konoha heat. Hoshiko still spent hours out in the freezing cold training, she was determined to not let up on her training. Itachi still helped her, although he was always called away on ANBU missions, sometimes he would be gone for weeks and only returning for a day or two before he was gone again. During his off time he would always spend a few hours with Hoshiko, giving her advice or helping her perfect a new technique. She was improving at a fast pace, and Itachi knew that it wouldn't be long until she would be able to join ANBU, but yet, she still had a ways to go.

Their relationship had progressed from blatant loathing on her end to civil conversations most days. Hoshiko wouldn't be as sarcastic and hostile towards him and actually found herself becoming more accustomed to his presence; she didn't want to admit it, but the Uchiha was rubbing off on her, she was more focused on her work and didn't have as many embarrassing outbursts as she did before.

Shortly after that Itachi had been rather grumpy for a week, Hoshiko had asked him why and he had grudgingly replied that he wasn't allowed to have dango for a week; Hoshiko was left confused but didn't press the matter further; she didn't really like dealing with a grumpy Itachi.

After Shisui had left Hoshiko with the ramen bill she had ignored him for a whole three weeks. The older Uchiha had tried to apologise to her but she refused to talk or even look at him; resorting Itachi to be the little piggy in the middle and relay conversations between the two. After the three weeks were up Hoshiko had finally accepted his apology and the two went on as normal.

When Itachi was away on a mission it was normally Shisui who trained with her, and when Shisui was away sometimes Hatake Kakashi would drop by and give her a few pointers.

She had been star struck to say the least, Kakashi was renowned as being one of the best Shinobi in the village; Hoshiko had grown up hearing stories of all of his missions. He gave her tips and tricks that she soaked up greedily, begging him to show her some of his famous Copy Ninja no Kakashi moves. He had obliged, showing her the _chidori_ , much to her delight.

* * *

"Hoshiko-chan! Hurry up or it'll be too late!" Hiroka called into the house as she fastened up her winter boots. Hiroka wrapped her blue scarf tightly around her neck and glanced over her shoulder to see Hoshiko shrugging on her large black jacket and pulling on some thick gloves. Her legs were covered in long leggings with winter boots on her feet.

"I'm coming," she said to her mother as Hiroka opened up the sliding door. The chilly winter air blew into the house as Hiroka linked her arm with Hoshiko's as the two left the comfort of their warm home.

It thankfully wasn't snowing as the two walked together down the street, though the streets were still about an inch deep in snow it wasn't difficult to maneuver like it had been a few days ago.

"When does Itachi-kun return from his mission?" Hiroka asked Hoshiko as they turned down a heavily populated street. Even in the midst of winter, Konoha villagers still liked to stay out late and shop and eat.

"Tomorrow I think," Hoshiko said as she rubbed her hands together. She couldn't wait until they got to the restaurant; her fingers and ears were freezing!

"That's nice, you're always so quiet when he's away." Hiroka mused as Hoshiko stared at her mother.

"That's not true!" She exclaimed as Hiroka giggled.

"Well, as long as you two aren't butting heads anymore." She said positively as Hoshiko cleared her throat.

"Well, we still butt heads, I don't think that's ever going to change; but I actually think he's becoming more sarcastic."

"Don't tell me that your bad mannerisms are rubbing off on him!" Hiroka said, aghast. This time it was Hoshiko's turn to laugh.

"It's not my fault that he has the social capabilities of a hermit."

"Maybe you shouldn't spend as much time with him, I wouldn't want him to get in trouble with Fugaku-san; Itachi-kun is the Uchiha clan heir." Hiroka said remorsefully. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at her mother.

"I like hanging out with him." Hoshiko said defensively.

"Oh, and when did that change? I seem to remember a certain someone cursing his name to the heavens every time he was mentioned within a five foot radius." Hiroka said sarcastically as Hoshiko felt her cheeks heat up, and it wasn't because of the cold.

"Since I've been able to train with Kakashi-senpai."

"Oh, I've seen him around, he's very handsome isn't he?"

" _Okaa-san!_ " Hoshiko whined as Hiroka shrugged her shoulders.

"Well he is, maybe I'll have to come and watch one of your training sessions with him one day."

Hoshiko pulled a face at her mother; but she sort of agreed with her. Even Hoshiko's eleven-year-old mind knew that Kakashi was indeed handsome, even if his face was half covered. He treated her like a Kunoichi when they trained together and he never put her down for her lack of abilities, and she didn't miss the little skip of her heart when she saw him waiting for her in the training ground.

If Hoshiko didn't know any better, she would say that she was developing a crush on the mysterious silver haired ANBU, not that she wasn't one of the dozens of women who did fantasize about him.

* * *

"We should go soon." Hiroka stated quietly. Hoshiko detected the slight quiver in her tone as she looked at her mother quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Hoshiko asked. Hiroka's eyes darted to something behind her head but then back to her daughter as she plastered on a tight smile.

"Oh, nothing! I just don't want us to be caught out in the freezing cold." Hiroka said, waving her hand dismissively. Hoshiko frowned; this was unusual behavior for her mother. Hoshiko continued eating her dinner; she kept on sneaking glances at her mother every couple of seconds to see why she was acting so odd. She could tell that there was something behind her going on but Hoshiko didn't want to turn around.

There was a rowdy laugh from behind from a few men from what Hoshiko could decipher, and it was when these men had laughed that Hiroka had looked up nervously and fussed with her napkin.

"Okaa-san?" Hoshiko said quietly, catching her mother's attention.

"We should go, now." Hiroka said firmly. Hoshiko was confused but nodded as Hiroka went off to pay for the bill.

Hoshiko shrugged on her jacket and tossed her hair over her shoulder, looking back as she did; she spotted the table full of four men. One of them was a Shinobi. The three civilians were middle-aged men, with tall frames and beards. The Shinobi was muscular and was glaring at Hoshiko with hatred that made her blood run cold, his piercing murky eyes bore into hers as his lips were pressed into a firm line, his fist was clenched on top of the table.

"Let's go." Hiroka appeared next to her daughter as Hoshiko jumped slightly, she had been so focused on the Shinobi. Hiroka took her daughters hand in hers as tugged her lightly from the restaurant.

They stepped out into the freezing cold night as Hoshiko gazed skywards, it had begun to snow again. Hiroka tugged on Hoshiko's hand as they walked down the busy street. It wasn't as full as before but with the snow now falling more people were heading home.

"Okaa-san…what was that about?" Hoshiko asked hesitantly. Hiroka squeezed her hand slightly and shook her head, plastering on another fake smile.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it was nothing."

"Oi! You Ginyoru wenches!"

Hoshiko and Hiroka stopped in the middle of the street and turned. Some villagers glanced over at the commotion that had just occurred but kept on walking; it was too cold and late to be bothered with this affair.

Hoshiko furrowed her brows aggressively as she saw the Shinobi from in the restaurant standing a few meters away; his three friends accompanied him. All four of them were glaring at the two small women. "I thought we made it clear long ago that your kind aren't allowed here," the man yelled, his anger was evident. Hoshiko was confused beyond belief as Hiroka tried to shield her away from him.

"We were just having dinner."

"So was I," he spat, "but I couldn't ignore the fact that two murderers were in my midst!"

Hoshiko felt shocked at the mans words, her heart lurched painfully as she gazed over at her mother who had an unreadable expression.

"We had no part in the war, we came here as refugees and were accepted by the Hokage. We have as much right to be here as you do." Hiroka said calmly. Hoshiko had started to shake, what was this man talking about? Murderers? He couldn't mean her, and her mother; could he?

"The Hokage may have let you stay here, but your family killed my brother and my father! You don't belong here, you're outsiders!" He hollered. His three friends agreed loudly.

"Okaa-san…" Hoshiko whispered, tightening her grip on her arm. She was so confused, what was going on? What were these men talking about?

"Please, my daughter is innocent in all of this," Hiroka begged them as the Shinobi sneered at them; his glare was directed at Hoshiko.

"None of you are innocent. Konoha Shinobi blood is on your hands!" The man to the left of the Shinobi yelled at them. During the argument the men had been shuffling closer to the two women, and now they were only a few feet away. The man who had spoken last raised his hand, as if to strike Hiroka. Hoshiko was ready to push her mother out of the way and defend her when a figure appeared between them.

The figure reached up and clasped the mans wrist, halting his attack as his long dark hair fluttered in the wind. Hoshiko could only stare at the back of him but she knew who it was immediately.

"Itachi…" Hoshiko whispered in relief.

* * *

The man who was being held by Itachi shook in fright as he stared into blazing crimson irises. Itachi's glare bore into the mans soul as he tried to wrench his wrist out of the Uchiha's grip.

Itachi's weasel mask was tied to his side; he was still garbed in his ANBU gear, a clear reminder to them that he was not someone to mess with.

"Uch—Uchiha," the man said nervously. Itachi's glare switched to the other men and Shinobi as they all yelped in fear.

"I would suggest that you all leave this area, and it would be wise to never approach them again. If you do, I will know about it." Itachi said darkly, he relinquished his hold on the man as he stumbled back and fell into his friends. The four of them spun around on their heels and hightailed it out of there.

Hoshiko felt a shiver run through her spine at the way Itachi had spoken those words, he had been so threatening, so cold. She had never heard him use that tone before; it terrified her. He turned slowly as Hoshiko watched his crimson eyes fade back into the bottomless black orbs that she knew. Itachi surveyed them both as he walked to them.

"Are you both alright?" He asked, mainly directed at Hiroka who looked physically shaken from the ordeal. Hoshiko stared at the ground with a frown; she wanted to know why these men had accused her family as murderers. There were so many questions that she needed answering.

"Yes, thank you, Itachi-kun." Hiroka sighed. Hiroka turned to Hoshiko who was glaring at the snowy ground, she reached out hesitantly for her. "Hoshiko?"

Hiroka made contact with Hoshiko's shoulder as the young girl shrugged her off and met her dark gaze. After a second Hoshiko turned her piercing gaze onto Itachi.

"Can you make sure my mother gets home safely?" She asked the ANBU. Hoshiko didn't wait for his response, she didn't need too; Itachi wouldn't leave her mother by herself, she could trust him. She ran off, leaving Hiroka and Itachi staring at her back in worry.

* * *

When Hoshiko finally stopped running, she found herself standing on the bridge to the south of the village. She had come here when she had first met her Genin team and sensei, and they would always meet here; it was the first place that Hoshiko had made friends in the village. Daisuke and Ichiro didn't care that nobody liked her, or thought that she was weird, they accepted her for who she was.

Hoshiko leant on the red railing, watching as the snow dropped down onto the frozen river below. A gas light to her left was the only source of light for her as she lowered her head onto her arms and sighed, the puff of air visible in the night.

She wanted to know why the men had accused her family of being murderers, why they hated her so much. Her father had died before he had explained anything to her, and she hated it. She wanted to know so much, there was so much she wanted to ask him; but now she couldn't.

It wasn't long before Hoshiko heard footsteps crunching in the snow to her left. If her hearing wasn't so attuned she probably wouldn't have heard them at all. She tilted her head to the left and watched as Itachi approached her slowly. He hadn't even bothered to don a winter jacket or anything; he was still wearing his ANBU uniform.

"You'll catch a cold." Hoshiko said to him as she faced down the river again. The snow had ceased falling but it was still very chilly in the night. Itachi's onyx gaze stared at the side of her face, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants as he came to a standstill a few feet away from her.

"I'll be fine," he told her softly. There was an awkward silence between the two. Neither wanted to speak first. It was finally Itachi who broke the silence. "What happened—"

"They said we were murderers." Hoshiko hissed as she clenched her fist on the railing. Itachi felt her chakra flare up in anger. "I don't understand why they hate us so much!"

Hoshiko turned her blazing glare to Itachi as she saw the guilt on his face, her anger faltered for a second as she furrowed her brows and stepped closer to him. Itachi angled his face away from her wearily.

"You know, don't you?" She asked timidly. Hoshiko scoffed and faced away from him again. "Of course you know; Uchiha Itachi always knows everything." She hissed vehemently.

"It isn't my place to tell," Itachi replied quietly, causing Hoshiko to slam her fists down on the railing in anger.

"Then why bother coming here? You know that those men blame us for something and yet you can't tell me why? You're as bad as my Otou-san." She spat at him as she turned her back on him and began marching away.

"You really want to know?" Itachi's firm voice stopped her as she glanced over her shoulder at him. There was a gust of chilly wind that blew Hoshiko's loose dark hair around her face as she brushed it away. Hoshiko nodded as she moved back to stand next to Itachi who was watching her with a stern gaze. "During the Third Shinobi war, the Ginyoru clan was sought out by Iwa to become mercenaries and infiltrate Konoha camps and assassinate them. They were successful. The clan slaughtered almost two-hundred Shinobi and in return Konoha wiped our their entire clan."

Hoshiko turned away, her stomach churning at the news, she felt ill. To think that her family had been apart of that; and yet she was here in Konoha with her mother. No wonder the villagers hated her.

"Why?" Hoshiko asked quietly, her bottom lip quivering. "Why did they kill so many?"

"You possess a very powerful Kekkei Genkai, it's not clear on what you can do as your clan was so secretive but it has something to do with chakra. All members can utilize their chakra so efficiently that you can barely expend it, the masking is another trick that is well known in your clan, it was how they were able to sneak in so well."

Hoshiko shut her eyes in sorrow as a painful look came over her face. Itachi didn't relent; Hoshiko had wanted to know the truth so he was going to give it to her. "During the battle, a family with a young girl pleaded with a Konoha Shinobi to spare their daughters life as they had been ostracized from the clan and had no ill feelings towards anyone."

There was a sharp intake of breathe from Itachi's right as Hoshiko realized what he was saying.

"They begged for their daughters life to be spared, she was only three. The captain of the squadron took them prisoner and showed them mercy. It was decided by the Hokage that they would be brought back to Konoha to be granted amnesty and live out their lives here."

Itachi saw, out of the corner of his eye that Hoshiko wiped her face quickly and turned to face him, even in the dark night he could see the tear tracks on her tanned face.

"How do you know all of this?" She asked him, her voice quiet and meek. It was the first time Itachi had heard her so vulnerable. There was a pause as Itachi sighed and looked down at the frozen river; he gazed at a small section that had begun to thaw off slightly.

"I was there. My Otou-san was the squad leader assigned to kill the Ginyoru clan; he took me with him so that I could experience the horror of war, so that I could see what we were fighting to stop. Instead I saw the senseless slaughter of almost a hundred people, protecting their homeland. War is pointless, neither side can win when hundreds die." He could feel her gaze on him but refused to look at her.

"I don't remember much," Hoshiko admitted. "I remember being scared and having to walk for days. I don't even remember what my home looked like back then, all I've ever known has been here." She said.

There was another silence between the two before Itachi turned his back on her, "you should return home. Your Okaa-san will be worried about you."

He walked off the bridge as he heard Hoshiko call out from behind.

"Itachi!"

He inclined his head slightly to the side to look at her from his peripheral vision.

" _Arigato._ "

He nodded his head briefly before disappearing in the blink of an eye.


	5. The Exam Begins!

**Hi everyone reading, thank you for alerting and reviewing on the last chapters! I'm glad people are liking my story so far, I'm hoping that my story will be different from all the others that I have read as I feel the way I have planned it all out you will all be pleasantly happy and surprised!**

 **Drop a review if you feel like it to tell me what you think about the story so far!**

* * *

 _The Exam Begins!_

 **Onyx and Ivory  
**

* * *

Two and a half years passed peacefully in Konoha, the seasons changed and peace was more or less solidified within the village. The academy was brimming with new students and the shops and markets were flourishing.

It was the middle of summer; the hot Konoha heat bore down on the village but it didn't stop the villagers from enjoying their days of peace. Countless people flocked to the rivers and enjoyed their time cooling off. The sky was cloudless and a stunning cornflower blue.

Entering the Uchiha compound on the far side of the village, a fourteen-year-old Hoshiko strode through the area with a grin on her face. Her long sleek black hair that she had grown out over the two years reached the middle of her back as it swished from side to side as she walked. Her front bangs curled around her chin as her forehead protector sat proudly at the top of her head. Her face had thinned out and lost most of her baby fat, her silver eyes were the brightest they had ever been and a faint red touched her cheeks from the blazing sun above.

She was wearing her new uniform today, for today; was her ANBU entrance exam. Her legs were covered in the loose fitting trousers and black ninja sandals, she wore a long sleeved black shirt for the time being, she would be getting her armor when she went to headquarters. Her weapons pouch was strapped to her right leg and a belt with three more weapons and scroll packs on her rear.

Hoshiko walked the familiar path to the large Uchiha mansion, she greeted some of the friendly Uchiha's that recognized her from always being around their heir so much as she walked up to the door. She rapped on it quickly and waited for someone to answer. It was a much different scene from a few years ago when Hoshiko would almost beat the door down to get Itachi's attention; she had matured over the two years.

The door slid open to reveal Uchiha Mikoto. She saw Hoshiko and her smile brightened at the young girl. "Ohayo, Hoshiko-chan."

Hoshiko smiled back, using her manners, "Ohayo, Mikoto-san!"

Mikoto stepped out of the way to let the girl in as Hoshiko slipped out of her shoes and pushed them to the side. "He's upstairs right now, he returned from a mission last night; good luck on your exam today," Mikoto said pleasantly as Hoshiko bowed in respect to her and watched the mother leave. Once she was gone Hoshiko's silver eyes glinted maliciously.

Hoshiko headed to the stairs as a little figure came bounding down them, his spikey hair bouncing on his head. Sasuke's dark eyes glared up at his arch nemesis as he crossed his arms.

"Nii-san's sleeping. You can't disturb him." He stated to her firmly as Hoshiko rolled her eyes and slapped her hand down on top of his head.

"Now now, little Sasuke, this is important ANBU business," she said with a smirk as Sasuke gripped her hand and yanked her hand off his head.

"You're not even in ANBU!" He exclaimed as Hoshiko growled at him.

"I will be after today, _gaki_!" Hoshiko mocked him as Sasuke continued to frown up at her. Sasuke yelped when suddenly Hoshiko pinched his cheeks and pulled on them roughly. "So you better start respecting me!"

" _Okaa-san!"_ Sasuke cried out as Hoshiko removed her hands and laughed at the redness of Sasuke's cute little cheeks as he ran off to his mother. Hoshiko took this as her chance as she dashed up the stairs; she tip toed to the door at the end of the hall she knew was Itachi's room as she stood outside. With a grin she opened her mouth.

"Ohayo! Ita—" she kicked the door open with her foot, "chi!"

The door flew open and hit the other side of the wall as Itachi shot up in his bed, his black orbs immediately changed to red, thinking that he had come under attack as he narrowed his gaze at the grinning girl as she strode into the room.

"What are you doing?" He asked her monotonously. Hoshiko reached out and shut the door calmly as she pointed to it.

"Shutting the door, got a problem with that?"

Itachi's eyes faded to his onyx as he rolled back onto his bed, he had only gotten in at four in the morning, and if his body clock was right it was barely seven in the morning. There was a shift on his mattress as he turned onto his back, seeing Hoshiko bending over him, her legs on either side of his waist.

"Oi, Itachi-baka! Did you forget what day it is?" She hissed at him as she placed her hands on her waist as she glared down at him. Itachi sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Of course not, you've been talking about it non-stop the past three weeks," he muttered grumpily as Hoshiko stepped off his bed and went and sat on the desk on the other side of the room. "In any case, I thought you weren't a morning person, I expected I would be the one to come and drag you to the meeting." Itachi grumbled as she sat up and tossed his legs over the side to plant them on the ground.

"I'm not, I couldn't sleep at all last night." Hoshiko whined as she played with a kunai relic. Itachi sighed in annoyance as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Please don't drop that."

"I wont," she said defensively, "I'm not a child."

"Could've fooled me," Itachi muttered.

Suddenly the door opened as Sasuke came bounding in; his cheeks were still red as Hoshiko snorted at the sight of him.

"Nii-san! I tried to stop her!" Sasuke hollered, his eyes as wide as saucers. Itachi exhaled sharply; all he wanted was a nice peaceful sleep, apparently that was too much as he had a friend like Hoshiko. Before Itachi could tell his beloved little brother that it was all right Hoshiko was already at the door, her hand covering Sasuke's face as she pushed him back.

"Thanks for dropping by, Sasuke!"

Hoshiko slammed the door in Sasuke's face as the two teens heard the annoyed yelling of Sasuke as he pounded on the door.

"Nii-san!" came the muffled yell of Sasuke as Hoshiko sniggered. Itachi rubbed his face and sent her a pointed look.

"You should be more nicer to him," he said to her as he watched Hoshiko hold the door handle as Sasuke tried to open the door once more.

"But it's so much fun seeing him squirm!" She laughed as Itachi rolled his black orbs at her.

"He's going to resent you one day." Itachi stated as Hoshiko scoffed at him.

"He already does, besides, he's so easy to rile up; all I have to do is pretend that I'm going to make your life miserable and he's comes rushing in all heroic."

"You already make my life miserable," Itachi stated with a pointed look. Hoshiko mocked being hurt.

"You're incredibly grumpy this morning."

"I've had three hours sleep," Itachi said through gritted teeth as Hoshiko laughed. Her laugh was music to his ears.

Over the two and half years since Hoshiko and Itachi had began training together the friendship they had formed was strong. Hoshiko was no longer the brooding and snappy child that she used to be; she used to hate social interaction and did her best to avoid it at all costs, as well as Itachi. But the two were now as close as Itachi and Shisui were; it was as if the two most anti-social people found solace in being around the other.

She was now more outgoing and ever the sarcastic, not that she wasn't before but the way she carried herself, she was proud and confident, not like when she was eleven and shied away from people who seemed to dislike her, now she relished in it.

"Well don't go back to sleep, we've got a big day ahead!" Hoshiko cried cheerfully as she wrenched the door open. Sasuke tumbled into the room as he crossed his arms and glared up at Hoshiko.

"You're so annoying!" He cried as Hoshiko faked surprise.

"My, Sasuke-chan, what are you doing outside, you should've knocked on the door I would've let you in!" Hoshiko held her hand to her chest as Sasuke seethed; the anger was coming off him in waves.

Hoshiko patted Sasuke on the head, not gently, as the young Uchiha winced and turned his pleading gaze onto his older brother.

"Nii-san! Aren't you going to yell at her?" Sasuke complained as Itachi chuckled at the two of them. "Oi! Nii-san!"

"Ja ne, Sasuke-chan!" Hoshiko waved as she left the room, leaving Sasuke to run over to his brother who still had a smirk on his face.

"Nii-san, why are you friends with her?" He asked with a big pout on his little face. Itachi bowed his head and sighed.

"I don't know, Sasuke."

Sasuke suddenly perked up as he grinned at his brother, "Can we train together today?" He asked eagerly as Itachi gave him an apologetic look and beckoned him closer. Sasuke beamed as he stepped closer and winced when he felt two fingers poke his forehead roughly.

"Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

* * *

The sound of a cane tapping on the hard concrete floor echoed throughout the underground complex as the withered old man walked slowly to his bowed subordinate. His orange haired Root, hidden behind his rat mask raised his head as Danzo approached him. Danzo came to a stop a few feet away as he settled both hands on his walking cane.

"It is time." Danzo stated as the Root nodded.

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

"I have made all the necessary arrangements, you will be placed on the team with the girl; make sure you do not kill her, we need her to unlock her powers."

"I understand," the Root nodded as Danzo studied him for a few seconds before inclining his head gently.

"She will be protected by the Sharingan user, be sure that they never find out that you had any part in this."

The Root was silent, he knew the success of the mission rested on his shoulders.

"Go, and do not disappoint me," Danzo threatened him as the orange haired Root disappeared in a puff of white smoke. After he was gone, Danzo's mouth twitched up into a malicious smirk.

 _Finally, we can get to work._

* * *

"So, for today your codename is going to be Tsuki." Kakashi told Hoshiko as they stood on top of the Hokage tower. The girl was beaming as Kakashi handed her a porcelain mask with the markings of a cat on them. Hoshiko was now wearing a sleeveless black shirt with her grey ANBU armor covering her chest, back, arms and shins. Her hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail as she secured the mask to her face.

"Got it, Kakashi-senpai!" Hoshiko cheered as Kakashi deadpanned and smacked his forehead.

"Oi, what did I just tell you! My codename is Inu," he hissed at her as Hoshiko waved her hand teasingly.

"Hai, hai!" She said with a giggle.

Kakashi sighed heavily as two more people appeared a few feet behind them. Both were ANBU were male and wearing masks; one had bright orange hair with the mask of a rat and the other was light haired with the mask of a monkey. All of them towered over Hoshiko as Kakashi nodded to the two ANBU.

"Captain, everything is ready." The light haired ANBU said with a nod as Kakashi turned his masked face to Hoshiko.

"Good, but for today, Tsuki is captain."

Hoshiko felt her stomach drop as she looked over at the obviously more experienced ANBU that would be helping her with her exam today. Even though she couldn't see their eyes, she could feel their critical gazes on her and she tried not to let her nervousness seep through. This is what she had been training for the past three years, she was finally catching up to Itachi.

"You two, your code names." Kakashi said to them as the light haired one nodded.

"Hai, I am Mon."

"Renji," the orange haired one said dully.

Hoshiko took note of their names, she'd probably forget them soon enough, she was never good at learning people's names. Hoshiko missed Kakashi pulling out a small scroll and handing it to her.

"Captain, the missing brief." Kakashi said to her as Hoshiko was still trying to remember their names. Kakashi sighed and smacked her lightly on the arm as she flinched.

"Ah, gomen!" She took the scroll from him and opened it up. She read it quickly and as if a switch had been flicked inside her, the aura around Hoshiko changed as her happy and cheerful mood switched to serious and focused.

"The Daimyo's granddaughter has been taken for ransom. The enemy's base has been spotted near the border and we have been tasked with her safe retrieval. The enemies' numbers are unknown and their skills are unknown. We have until the end of the third day to complete the mission before she is killed."

Hoshiko read out, as her teammates remained silent. They were waiting for her to make the next decision. She quickly ran over all of her options in her head and then nodded.

"Mon, what are your strengths?" She asked from the monkey wearing ANBU.

"I'm a Ninjutsu user with my strength lying in Genjutsu."

Hoshiko nodded and then turned to the bright haired ANBU.

"Renji?"

"I'm a sensory user," he replied sharply, "my strength is Taijutsu."

"Ok," Hoshiko sighed as she went over a few formations in her head, it took a few seconds before she looked over at Kakashi.

"We'll be using the single file formation when we travel. Inu, you'll be first, your sense of smell is unrivaled and if the enemy is masking their chakra you can pick them up. You also have the Sharingan, you'll be able to see any incoming attacks first and warn us." Kakashi nodded, behind his mask he was smiling at the way that she took charge; she certainly knew what she was doing.

"Mon," she said sharply. "You're next. If Inu is engaged in an enemy I want you to immediately cast a Genjutsu on the area to obscure us."

Mon nodded to her.

"I'll be next," Hoshiko said pointing to herself. "Renji you'll be last, you're a better sensor than me and with your strong Ninjutsu you can use it from afar if any of them jump out. I'll be watching your back if that happens."

There was a slight incline of Renji's head, saying that he understood.

"We'll travel as far as we can today, and we should hopefully make it to the border by the morning of the third day. Once there we'll stake out their base and plan our infiltration from there, understood?"

"Hai!" All three of then chanted together as Hoshiko rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into her pocket.

"Let's head out," she said with a fierce determination in her eyes as the four of them leapt off the Hokage tower and towards the village exit.

* * *

"We'll stop here." Hoshiko called out over the loud wind. She jumped down from the tree she had jumped to and landed on the ground in a crouch as she watched the others join her. Kakashi, Renji and Mon all surveyed the area they were in. It was a small clearing with the tree's to their right and a cliff wall to their left, the area was surrounded by bushes, which obscured them; it was a good place for camp.

It was the morning of the third day; they had travelled hard and long to reach this place. It was just after dawn, dew was still stuck to the grass and a chill was in the air. They were at the border of the Fire country and the Waterfall country; it was much colder at the border at this time of year. Hoshiko brought out her map and scroll as she laid them on the grass as her three companions gathered around her.

"From the information given the enemy has a base set up here," Hoshiko pointed to a small dot just inside the Fire Country. "We're here." Hoshiko pointed to a spot that was a few miles away.

"We'll head up to the base and stay just out of range of any sensory ninja's that they might have. Once there I'll go and survey the area, seeing how many ninja are around and any blind spots that we can use. From there I'll be able to gauge how many we'll be taking on an what approach will be necessary."

Mon and Renji nodded as Kakashi was still, Hoshiko looked over at him.

"I think I should do the recon," Kakashi said as Hoshiko shook her head.

"No, I will. I can completely mask my chakra, they wont be able to detect me, and if they do, I'm fast and lighter then you all, I'll be able to slip away and signal you three for help."

This time Kakashi nodded as Hoshiko rolled up the scrolls once more. "This will be our meeting place, if we get separated or come under attack, retreat back here."

The three ANBU nodded to her as Hoshiko inhaled sharply and leapt up into the trees.

* * *

The team stopped when Renji gave the signal that they had come to the edge of a sensor's range. They ducked behind trees as Kakashi and Hoshiko stood together, the older ANBU towering over her as the peered through the bushes; they could faintly make out the building from their distance. Hoshiko glanced up at Kakashi through her hair.

"How am I doing?" She whispered to him as she heard the silver haired man sigh.

"You shouldn't be asking me this, we're in the middle of a mission."

"So that means I'm doing good?" She asked with a grin. Kakashi was silent and Hoshiko took that as a yes. She chuckled quietly and felt a sharp hit to the back of her head as she hissed and glared up at the man. Kakashi was smirking from behind his mask.

Hoshiko glanced over at Renji and Mon, who were both facing the base; they met her gaze as she gave them the signal that she was going in. Hoshiko made the rat seal and in a second her chakra signature completely disappeared. Kakashi was impressed to say the least.

Hoshiko jumped up into the trees again as she diligently made her way closer to the base.

* * *

Hoshiko crawled under the bush as she moved some of the sharp branches out of her way as her cunning silver eyes scanned the area. The base was a large four-story house; it was wooden and was surrounded by a tall wooden fence. At the front was a gate that was guarded by one masked enemy wearing a dark cloak. Hoshiko looked around the fence and saw three more masked enemies atop the wall. They were all standing still, the only thing moving was their heads, as they looked from side-to-side, scanning the area. Hoshiko closed her eyes and concentrated on expanding her chakra sensory. She wasn't as skilled as Renji in his sensor, he could sense over a large space; Hoshiko had to be within a hundred meters to be able to sense all of the people in one area. As she focused, she could feel the chakra signatures of all the ninja's inside the base.

There were the four outside; all had at least Chuunin level chakra abilities. Then there were about six inside, four on the bottom floor and two on the second level; all were about Chuunin level. On the third floor there were only two signatures, but these one's were a lot more advanced than the others, they would be about Jounin level; Hoshiko guessed this was where they were holding the Daimyo's granddaughter. On the top level were two more ninja's, one was a Jounin level and the other a Chuunin level.

She huffed; they weren't making this easy, were they? There were fourteen enemies all together and four of them. The only thing that they had on their side was the fact that her team consisted of stealth. It would at least give them the element of surprise when they went in.

Hoshiko was trying to decide what method would be the most effective, having them sneak in and take out the one's on the top level and get the Daimyo's granddaughter? Or burst in through the front door?

The front attack was out of the question. They would be outnumbered immediately if they lodged a frontal attack, all of the enemies would be on them in a second and they'd be overpowered. It didn't matter that these enemies were weaker than them, they had more; and if they saw them coming, they'd kill the granddaughter before they had even stepped one foot into the building.

Hoshiko watched as one of the masked men turned a different way and scoped out the area he was now facing, she noticed that the other two on the wall did the exact same. A thought suddenly lit up in her head as she grinned.

* * *

Hoshiko continued to watch the area for another hour, she was taking note of all the positions that the enemies took inside and tried to go over her plan a dozen times in her head to make sure that it would work. She was putting into account all of the different things that could go wrong and how she could get around them. It was this critical thinking that Itachi had installed in her from their training sessions. He had always warned her to plan everything out, even the minuscule things that could go wrong and compensate for them; even if there was a slim chance that it could happen, she still planned a work around, so that if it did, she wouldn't be left out in the dark.

Hoshiko jumped suddenly when a large black bird, a crow, landed on the ground in front of her. It cawed loudly as Hoshiko sighed and glared at the bird, it had scared her half to death as she hissed at it, trying to get it to fly away from her; she would be damned if a stupid bird blew her cover. The crow picked out a worm from the ground and then swiveled its head to stare at her in the eye. She glared at it. "Shoo! You stupid bird," she hissed at it vehemently as the crow cawed again and then flew off. Hoshiko rolled her silver eyes at it and then with a final scan of the base again, she crawled out of the bush and hurried back to her team waiting for her.

When she arrived back she sighed in exasperation at Kakashi's stance, he was leaning against the tree lazily while Renji and Mon were waiting patiently and alert.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" Hoshiko asked as Kakashi shook his head.

"Nope, all quiet, _captain,"_ Kakashi remarked with a smirk that Hoshiko couldn't see but could hear in his voice. She sent him a pointed look that he wouldn't be able to see but from the way her body was turned to look at him, he knew that she was threatening him.

Hoshiko beckoned them over as she took out a blank scroll and set it down on the ground, she took out an inkwell and a brush from her rear bag and drew a crude drawing of the base and what she saw.

"Ok, so from my recon, there are fourteen enemies. Four are stationed outside," she drew on the map the location of each of the ninja's. "One is by the gate and three on the wall. Inside on the first floor is four ninja's," she drew in them and then proceeded to draw in the two on the second floor, "and two on the second floor. All of these ninja's seem to be around a Chuunin level; they'll be easy to take out. It's the one's on the third and fourth floor that we need to watch out for." She drew them in quickly while also drawing in the granddaughter on the third floor. "Two Jounin level ninja's are on this floor, because the Daimyo's granddaughter isn't a Shinobi she doesn't have a chakra signature, but my best guess is that she is here, being protected by these two. The top level is watched by two ninja's; a Jounin level and a Chuunin level."

Hoshiko glanced at her three companions, but seeing as all their faces were covered she could only guess at what expressions they held.

"How will we get in? We've only got until the end of the day to come up with something otherwise she's dead," Mon asked Hoshiko as she nodded.

"I've already come up with one, I wasn't just scouting for our enemies out there, I thought of about ten different infiltration plans, this one is going to be our best bet of getting in and out with the least casualties."

Kakashi nodded to her to continue on, he was eager to hear what she had come up with in such a short amount of time.

"We'll wait until nightfall, it's when they'll be expecting us to attack anyway, they'll be on high alert and ready."

"That doesn't sound very smart," Kakashi whispered to her as she shushed him loudly.

"There is one blind spot. It's miniscule and only lasts for about three minutes. When the guards around the wall switch angles there's a point here," Hoshiko pointed to the west corner of the sketch, "that they miss completely. My plan is; we sneak in through the roof. Mon and Renji will take out the two guards at the top level while Inu and I go to the third floor and engage with the two other guards guarding the granddaughter. Inu, I'll have you make a shadow clone and have it attack the front gate once we engage the enemy, they'll be fighting on two fronts and your shadow clone should be enough to hold them off for a while."

Kakashi nodded to her as Hoshiko looked at her two other companions, she could feel their eyes on her as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

"Everyone understand?" She asked of them as Mon and Renji nodded stiffly.

"We should get some rest, we'll head back to base camp and set up a safety perimeter for our extraction and take shifts guarding the area. Once it's dark we'll make our move."

"Hai, captain," Mon replied as Hoshiko grinned behind her mask. She could get used to this.

"Let's head out."

* * *

 **The action and plot picks up next chapter! It's sure to be exciting!**


	6. Mizukiri Unlocked

**Thank you to everyone who is reading and alerting this story, I would love to know what you are all thinking about Hoshiko as a character. I intend this story to be pretty lengthy and I'll be mostly sticking to canon and changing up a few things here and there, but I do plan to make this story worthwhile, so if you're enjoying it so far let me know!**

* * *

 _Mizukiri Unlocked  
_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

When night fell Hoshiko and her team moved out. They leapt through the trees soundlessly, not leaving a trace behind as they all but flew. The night was chilly on their exposed skin as the full moon shone down on the four Shinobi as they landed in the same area as before. Hoshiko and Renji used their abilities to scan the area, making sure that there weren't any nearby enemies plotting to ambush them. Kakashi also sniffed the air incase some had masked their chakra. Once he gave them the all clear Hoshiko turned to her teammates.

"Ok, we all need to mask our chakra from here. Mon, I need you to cast a Genjutsu around us, nothing too fancy just something to obscure us," Mon nodded to her as Hoshiko turned to Kakashi, "Inu, I'll have you make your shadow clone here and when I tell you, have it start attacking the front gate. We have one shot at this, lets go." Hoshiko said with a firm nod as Kakashi made a shadow clone. The clone understood what it had to do and went to crouch behind the tree to stay out of sight.

The four of them all masked their chakra as Mon cast a basic Genjutsu around them, it was simple, and would keep them hidden as long as the enemy didn't focus on them for too long, they would move like a simple shadow out of the corner of the eye. "We'll head in in the formation we've been using." Hoshiko told them as the three nodded and moved into formation; then they set out.

* * *

The team crouched behind the bushes and scanned the area, the three ninja's atop the wall were different but were in the same places and the same blind spot was there. They had to wait for fifteen minutes before Hoshiko gave them the signal to go. They knew they only had three minutes before they would be seen so the tension was high as they leapt up onto the wall one at a time and jumped to the roof of the building. Hoshiko and Kakashi landed next to each other, crouching and holding onto the tiles of the roof as they held their breath anxiously; waiting to see if they had been spotted. Hoshiko gave them the signal to move out as Kakashi dropped down onto the balcony soundlessly, with Mon following him, then Hoshiko and Renji. They hurried across the balcony and just before they reached the sliding door to infiltrate the building Kakashi stalled, freezing to the spot.

"What is it?" Hoshiko hissed to him as Kakashi turned to face her.

"My clones been eliminated," he replied back. Hoshiko nodded, she had thought of this scenario also, she was prepared.

"They know we're here. Mon, Renji, take out the two up here. Inu, come with me," she ordered as Renji and Mon wrenched the door open and ran into the building. "So much for stealth and surprise," Hoshiko muttered sarcastically as she heard Kakashi chuckle under his breath.

"So what now?" He asked her as Hoshiko grinned from beneath her mask.

"Follow me, if you can keep up that is," she said to him as she brought her hands to the Ox seal as her chakra suddenly flared up. Hoshiko had a faint blue glow of chakra surrounding her body as electricity crackled in the air. Kakashi stared at her in astonishment; he knew that her strength lay with her lightning affinity, but he didn't know that she could manipulate it to this extent.

Hoshiko suddenly disappeared from his line of sight and there was an explosion from below him; if it weren't for his Sharingan he would've missed seeing how she used the lightning to increase her speed and strength, it was something that the Third Raikage had been able to do.

Hoshiko tore through the wall as she landed in the room and stared at her enemies. From above she could sense Mon and Renji in a battle with their two enemies, they seemingly had the upper hand at the moment, although their distraction had been found out, the enemy didn't know where they were exactly.

Hoshiko studied the two ninja's before her, they were both male and looked very experienced. The one on the left was dark haired with an angular face and broad nose and a scar running from the left side of his cheek to his neck. The one on the right had lighter hair and light blue eyes and a skinnier frame.

Kakashi entered the room and stood next to her as he faced their enemies. There was only a second to move when the two ninja's lunged for them. Hoshiko dodged out of the way and unsheathed her Wakizashi as her enemy gripped a kunai in his hand. The two of them met, their weapons clashing as it was a test of strength to see who could overpower the other. Hoshiko could feel herself loosing this battle; she relied on speed more than her strength. She quickly wrenched away her sword and roundhouse kicked the ninja, he blocked it and gripped her ankle. He brought down his kunai, intending to strike her in the chest as she latched onto his arm and used her other leg to kick him in the stomach, releasing her and launching him across the room.

Hoshiko collected herself as she snuck a glance at Kakashi and his enemy; they were locked in a heated Taijutsu battle with their weapons clashing. She looked back at her enemy, she didn't have long, she had to finish this quickly and complete her mission. Focusing her lightning chakra into the soles of her feet to increase her speed she ran at the ninja.

Her enemies eyes widened as he tried to follow her with his eyes, but she was too fast; she was darting all over the place, confusing him. Hoshiko appeared behind him and the enemy didn't have time to counter her as he felt a fist dig into his back, he screamed in pain as he felt the lightning enter his body painfully as he went flying through the air and into the wall opposite him. He crashed through the wall and crumpled in a heap on the floor as Hoshiko smirked behind her mask and turned to help Kakashi, although it wasn't needed as he had just finished incapacitating his own enemy.

Mon and Renji came leaping through the hole in the wall as they straightened up, "The rest of them are regrouping around the building, they don't intend to let us leave." Renji informed her as Hoshiko turned to face the straw dummy of the Daimyo's granddaughter. It had been sitting in a chair at the back of the room and was the whole reason why they were there. This was Hoshiko's real test now, to see how she could get herself, her team and the hostage out.

"Inu and I will clear a path for you, you two take the granddaughter and wait until it's clear to go to the extraction site."

Renji and Mon nodded as Mon moved to grab the dummy and lift it into his arms as Kakashi and Hoshiko walked to the hole in the wall where they had entered. Hoshiko looked down into the courtyard and saw at least two dozen more ninja's, using her chakra sense she concluded that over half of them were shadow clones. She extended her Wakizashi out and channeled her lightning affinity into the sword as it lit up in yellow and blue, the electricity cackling around it as she used her chakra to jump into the fray and cut down three shadow clones in two seconds.

Hoshiko spun and blocked a kunai that had been thrown at her face and kicked another clone that was jumping her from behind as she stabbed it in the chest as it poofed away, she then ducked down and jumped into the air and brought her sword to her chest and thrust it into the ground.

" _Raiton: Nagashi!_ "

Lightning from her sword and hands travelling through the ground and around her as the clones all succumbed to her attack as she wrenched out her sword from the ground. Hoshiko hadn't failed to notice that all of the clones she fought all had the familiar weasel porcelain mask and dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

There was a strong chakra signature behind her, it matched the clones but this alerted Hoshiko to the fact that this was the caster of the jutsu.

" _Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"_

Hoshiko barely had time to leap out of the way of the giant fireball heading for her as she quickly made the seal for a _Kage Bunshin_ as her clone appeared and masked their chakra and hid in the nearby trees. Hoshiko made the appropriate hand seals and brought her index and thumb together to create a circle.

" _Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!_ "

Dozens of fireballs erupted from her mouth as they headed straight for her enemy as he dodged out of the way and headed straight for her. Hoshiko could see the glint of red beneath the mask as she smirked and blocked his incoming attack with her sword.

"Still cheating with that Sharingan," she muttered under the strain of his force as she heard a deep chuckle from behind his weasel mask. "Should've known you wouldn't go easy on me, Itachi- _senpai_ ," Hoshiko mocked. She didn't receive a reply from Itachi as she suddenly had to block his incoming kick.

The two were locked in a Taijutsu battle as they both dodged hits and kicks and threw them at each other. Itachi's Sharingan was blazing behind his mask, watching her every move and anticipating her next attack while Hoshiko read his chakra movements, it gave her an advantage on where he would strike next, as Shinobi unknowingly sent chakra to the limb they were about to use to attack; it was evenly matched between them right now, but Hoshiko knew she wouldn't last much longer against Itachi.

Hoshiko received a rather nasty blow to her stomach as she doubled over in pain, she felt a cold hand clamp around her throat as Itachi lifted her up into the air. She only had a few seconds before Itachi would technically 'kill her' and her exam would be over so she moved quickly. She clamped her hands down on his wrist and planted her feet on his stomach, simultaneously she kicked his stomach and used chakra-enforced strength to pry his hands off her as she kicked off him and flipped back through the air. She hit the ground and skidded back, bracing her hand against the ground to stabilize her as she watched Itachi straighten his back from the blow.

"I'm guessing you were the one who took care of Kakashi's clone then," Hoshiko stated to Itachi as the Uchiha nodded.

"I've known you a long time, I could guess what you were going to do," came Itachi's snarky reply as Hoshiko frowned at him.

"Well then," she said as Hoshiko gripped her mask and removed it from her head moved it to the side, her silver eyes glinted in the moonlight as she made the Ox, rabbit and monkey seal. "I'll show you something that you haven't seen from me before."

With one hand she wrapped it around her wrist and held it at her side as her chakra started to swirl around her. Itachi's Sharingan recognized the jutsu immediately, as it was one that he had seen before, but by only one other person in the village. The silence between the two Shinobi was broken by the sound of electricity crackling in the air as Hoshiko's hand was suddenly engulfed in lightning. Rapid chirping sounds emanated from her jutsu as sparks flew out and hit the ground around her as her face lit up in the white-blue light.

"Chidori." Itachi stated in amazement.

* * *

Kakashi finished defeating his Itachi clones when he felt the powerful chakra emanating from Hoshiko, the sound of the familiar thousand chirping birds drew him in as he turned his head, looking over his shoulder to see Hoshiko and Itachi facing each other off, a good ten meters between them. Hoshiko had indeed cast the Chidori to Kakashi's utter astonishment.

 _I'd only ever shown her that move once, back when I first met her!_ Kakashi thought as he watched the lightning spark around her and hit the ground. _It's so powerful_ , he mused to himself.

* * *

Hoshiko bent her legs, preparing to launch her attack on Itachi; she knew that with this move her speed was going to be untraceable, she had to somehow beat his Sharingan while also not killing him, if she could that was. She watched as Itachi corrected his stance, preparing for her as Hoshiko kicked off and went running full sprint at him. The Chidori screeched beside her as she could barely contain her speed, her vision was solely focused on Itachi as she charged at him. Debris kicked up behind her as she suddenly disappeared from his line of sight.

Itachi caught her movement to the right as his crimson gaze trailed on her, as soon as he had a lock on her she disappeared and appeared to the left, she was trying to throw off his Sharingan as much as she could so that she could land a hit on him and be done with the exam. She appeared behind him next as Itachi dodged out of the way, barely. She skidded to a halt in front of him and spun around, with an almighty cry she pushed her legs hard as she leapt for him.

" _Chidori!_ "

Itachi was ready to counter her attack when suddenly she released the Chidori as it died off and Hoshiko grappled for his hands. Itachi was stunned as she latched onto his arms; he sensed another presence above as he inclined his head.

Hoshiko's _Kage Bunshin_ was grinning without her mask on as she had a Chidori chirping in her left hand as she soared through the air towards him.

From beneath his mask Itachi smirked, he was impressed. Hoshiko had finally managed to create the _Kage Bunshin_ without him sensing her chakra expenditure, and it had hidden in the surrounding trees without him sensing her and then she was able to sneak up on him and create another Chidori in the process.

But Itachi was still better than her.

His gaze lowered back to the real Hoshiko as he met her determined silver gaze through his mask, in that second, before her Chidori hit, Itachi suddenly disappeared in a flock of crows. Hoshiko's clone hit the ground; the Chidori exploding upon impact as the clone was released from the force of it and the real Hoshiko went flying back, hitting the ground hard. She rolled to a stop and groaned, wiping the blood that had trickled into her eye from the cut above her eyebrow as she stood shakily onto her legs. She could feel the drain on herself now, it was the first time she had used Chidori in a battle, and she had used it twice in the span of a few minutes, but she could still go on; she had to, she had to prove to Itachi and Kakashi and the other ANBU's that she was capable of doing this. She never expecting the drawbacks from using Chidori to be this painful though, even though it granted the user a speed and power boost it affected her vision when attacking and after the jutsu was done she could now feel the aching in her limbs.

She sensed Itachi emerging from the trees as she glared at him, she was annoyed at the fact that she had been stupid enough to be caught in his Genjutsu, she should've realized that it had been too easy to capture him and sneak up with her second Chidori. Her chakra senses alerted her to the fact that there was an Itachi clone behind her as she twisted her head around just in time to see him release another fireball directed at her. She pumped chakra into her legs, jumping over the fireball as she felt the heat lick at her exposed skin, she kept her eye on the clone but something drew her to look at the real Itachi down below.

Her eyes widened when she saw him throw two kunai towards her, she pictured them in her eyes, and they were heading straight for her. She quickly took out her kunai from her weapons pouch and blocked them both, the clashing of metal ringing in her ears.

Hoshiko spat out blood from her mouth.

Pain erupted from her torso and spread throughout her body as she cried out in pain, she felt her body fall through the air and prepared to hit the ground.

"Hoshiko!"

* * *

Itachi watched it all happen with his keen eyes, he had thrown the three kunai towards her; he knew that she'd be able to dodge them; he couldn't keep track of how many times they had practiced kunai throwing over the years, she was an expert in dodging his attacks. So it came as a shock to him when he watched Hoshiko block the two kunai heading for her head and arm but completely missed the one he had aimed for her stomach. His Sharingan registered it before he did that there was no way for her to dodge the attack as the kunai pierced her armor and sunk into the tender flesh of her torso.

She was still in the air when the blood poured from her stomach, and then she coughed up blood as it spilled from her mouth as Itachi watched her silver eyes widen in horror as she screamed and went limp in the air.

"Hoshiko!" Itachi yelled her name as he dashed over to her and caught her effortlessly in the air. He watched the crimson blood soak into her clothes but didn't dare risk pulling out the kunai that was embedded in her stomach so deep that only the top of the handle was visible. Itachi landed on the ground as Kakashi appeared next to him in an instant as he set Hoshiko down on the ground gently and removed his mask from his head. His Sharingan faded into his onyx orbs as he looked up at Kakashi who had also removed his mask from his head.

"She should've dodged them," Kakashi stated as Itachi pulled out bandages from his rear bag.

"We need to stop the bleeding and get her back to Konoha," Itachi stated to him as Kakashi nodded and quickly performed the Summoning Jutsu. Pakkun appeared in a poof of white smoke as the small canine studied the scene.

"I need you to go ahead to Konoha and let them know what's happened here, we're bringing back a critically injured Ginyoru Hoshiko." Kakashi told his companion as Pakkun nodded.

"I'll go with haste," Pakkun said with a nod as he took off into the forest. Kakashi watched him go for a second and the reality set in. It was an almost three day journey back to Konoha, and from the yelps, groans and blood coming out of Hoshiko's body; there was high chance she wouldn't make it in time. ANBU weren't medic ninja's, they only had basic training on how to deal with cuts and gashes, this was a full-blown wound that would need surgery and a blood transfusion. Kakashi looked back to Itachi as he packed on bandages into her wound as Hoshiko coughed up more blood.

* * *

Hoshiko didn't want to die. She was only fourteen; this was her dream, to become ANBU and surpass Itachi. Not choke on her own blood because she had been stupid enough to not dodge a kunai, and Itachi had thrown it as well, even if he probably already wanted to kill her a dozen times, she couldn't imagine the guilt he would be feeling right about now. In fact, the only thing she could feel was the constant flow of her own blood leaving her body; it was getting harder to breathe, the blood was clogging up her throat so she forced herself to cough it out. Pain shot through her whole body as she screamed and whimpered as she could feel Itachi packing up her stomach wound, he was muttering under his breath but her hearing was beginning to drone out, she could see his lips moving and his bottomless black orbs glancing at her face every couple of seconds.

"It…Itachi…"

He barely heard her voice, it was weak and sounded wet from the blood she had in her mouth. His dark eyes met her dull silver gaze as he watched her mouth twitch into the sarcastic smirk he knew so well.

"You…such a… _baka_ …"

Itachi scoffed as he returned her smirk with his own, "You're the _baka_ , not being able to dodge a kunai. You should be sent back to the academy."

Hoshiko tried to laugh but all that came out was another hacking cough as Kakashi knelt down near her head.

"We've got to move, if we don't get her back as soon as possible—"

"Kaka…shi-senpai," Hoshiko's weak voice cut him off as his one black eye met hers, "bet you…were surprised…by Chidori."

Kakashi smiled weakly behind his mask, "pleasantly, you're a quick learner."

Kakashi's bare hand reached down to her arm as his fingers brushed against her skin there, and suddenly, as if something was moving Hoshiko; her hands shot out as her body sat up and she grasped Kakashi's face.

Itachi was forced back as he stared, open mouthed at what he was seeing.

"Kakashi!"

The older ANBU's eyes rolled into the back of his head as Itachi watched the colour drain from his face in mere seconds, his cheeks became sunken and dark circles appeared under his eye. It all happened in mere seconds, Itachi could see Hoshiko's silver eyes glowing, a feat that was extraordinary in itself, as well as the fact that her stomach wound was healing itself. The kunai dropped out of her stomach as the hole closed up, leaving a patch of bare, tanned skin.

* * *

 _Shisui sighed. "From what my Otou-san said, her clan comes from somewhere near Iwa. They have a very powerful Kekkei Genkai that allows them to absorb chakra from their enemies with a single touch. They can also extract memories from their victims and use that chakra to heal wounds and give them a pretty powerful energy boost." Shisui explained as Itachi continued to trail his eyes on Hoshiko as she failed to perform the clone jutsu._

* * *

Itachi acted quickly after remembering what Shisui had told him long ago about Hoshiko's Kekkei Genkai. He knew he couldn't touch Hoshiko, lest he have his chakra absorbed like Kakashi, so he lunged for his senior. He grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away from Hoshiko, the two of them hitting the ground as Kakashi lost consciousness. Itachi activated his Sharingan and checked Kakashi over; his chakra was low…very low. A few seconds longer and Hoshiko would've sucked him completely of his chakra and he would've died.

He looked over his shoulder at said girl; she was lying on her side, also unconscious. Her hair covered her face and back, lying in a pool of her own blood with her bloodied clothes and face.

"Captain!" came a shout from above as eight figures appeared. Itachi looked at the mixture of ANBU and Konoha Chuunin that had helped with Hoshiko's exam the past three days. Hoshiko's other team members were apart of this small group as they crowded around Itachi, Kakashi and Hoshiko.

Itachi recognized the ANBU member, Mon, as he crouched down next to Hoshiko's body and reached out to touch her.

"Don't touch her," Itachi warned as the light haired ANBU jolted his hand back and stared at Itachi through his monkey mask.

"Captain, what happened?" One of Itachi's squad members asked him, "Kakashi-senpai…is he…"

"He's not dead," Itachi reaffirmed to him as he looked between his friend and his senpai. He looked around at all of the masked faces staring at him, he finally thought of a decision. "We need not speak about this to anyone in the village. What happened here was a complete accident and we need to return to Konoha with haste; Kakashi-senpai needs immediate treatment." Itachi watched as one of the younger ANBU, nearer to Kakashi's age stepped up to his friend and hoisted him onto his back. His ANBU mask was decorated with green and red and his dark brown hair stuck up on top of his head, Itachi knew him as Tenzo.

"What about her?"

Itachi looked over at the ANBU who had spoken, it was the orange haired one, Renji; Itachi knew that he worked for Root, it wasn't strange that a Root member had been on this exam, Danzo liked to scope out potential Root members, even if he hadn't trained them since they were children.

"No one is to touch her skin," Itachi ordered as his fixed his blazing gaze onto one of the ANBU's who donned a long cloak. "Give me your cloak."

The ANBU immediately complied as he removed his clothing and handed it to Itachi, he draped it over Hoshiko's unconscious body and carefully wrapped it around her and picked her up in his muscular arms, cradling her to his chest as her head lolled back against his arm; he wasn't taking any chances that she would absorb any more chakra even though she was healed. Itachi glanced back at Tenzo.

"Get rid of the building," he stared ahead at the remaining group as Tenzo maneuvered Kakashi against his back and clasped his hands together tightly and undid his wood release, the building that was half smashed to pieces retracted back into the ground; the area was clear, like they had never been there.

The team was silent as Itachi made the first move as he jumped up into the trees.

* * *

Itachi led the team of Shinobi through the forest, all of them pushing their legs to go as fast as they could, they needed to reach Konoha quickly. As Itachi jumped from tree to tree, he glanced down at Hoshiko's face; the lower half of her face was completely covered in blood and most of her clothes were soaked crimson. Her breathing was even and if it wasn't for the blood, Itachi would've assumed that she was sleeping peacefully in his arms.

His grip tightened on her shoulder and legs as he thought about what was going to happen when they returned to Konoha; the villagers had just begun to accept Hoshiko, she no longer had to shy away from their hateful glares every time she walked down a street, if word got out that she had activated her Kekkei Genkai and injured Kakashi, there would be riots. Her clan was feared because of her ability, Itachi could now understand why. He had seriously doubted the magnitude of the Mizukiri's power but seeing it first hand terrified and amazed him, what Hoshiko had was truly a curse.

He couldn't imagine what Hoshiko will be feeling when she finds out what she did to Kakashi…she will be devastated.

Kakashi is a dear friend to her, and when she hears that she almost killed him with the very thing that people fear her for, Itachi could only image the various things that will happen when she receives the news. Would the Hokage even let Hoshiko even continue being a Kunoichi? Would he label her a threat and strip her of her rank? Send her to the Intel division where her father had worked before his death, from there she would constantly be watched and under guard in case she ever tried to attack anyone…

The scenarios were endless in Itachi's mind.

As Itachi stared at her blood stained face, he remembered the morning a few days ago, when she had burst into his room at the crack of dawn, shouting at the top of her lungs that her exam was commencing that very day and how excited and nervous she was about becoming an ANBU…how everything had changed in that short amount of time. Who would've thought that she would unlock her Kekkei Genkai at this time?

Hoshiko had confided in Itachi almost a year ago that she desperately wished that she would never unlock her ability; she didn't want to be feared or treated as a monster by the villagers. She didn't want to carry the shadow of her tainted clan on her back for the rest of her life, and she knew that if her ability did come to fruition the village would alienate her once more.

* * *

They returned to Konoha on the second day, the Shinobi had pushed themselves to their limits, needing to get back to the village as soon as possible with Kakashi and Hoshiko's conditions. Itachi spotted the Sandaime Hokage waiting at the gates with a medical team and Pakkun sitting at his heels.

Itachi walked forwards with Hoshiko's still unconscious body, her and Kakashi had still not awoken from their sleep, which made Itachi feel uneasy about what had transpired between Hoshiko and Kakashi.

The Sandaime didn't need any explanation given to him; he was able to see from the look on Itachi's face and the two bodies that were being carried that Hoshiko had unlocked her Kekkei Genkai. It was unfortunate that it had happened in this manner, but they couldn't dwell on it for too long; they needed medical attention and fast. The medic ninja's hurried forwards, with two long stretchers; they shouted commands to each other as they took Kakashi from Tenzo's back and laid him out on the stretcher. Kakashi still looked like he was on deaths door with his ghostly skin and sunken cheeks; his breathing was labored and his chakra was still dangerously low. A medic Nin immediately started healing him with her chakra as they hurried off to the hospital.

Itachi reluctantly relinquished his hold on Hoshiko as two nurses took her limp body from his arms. He had cleaned the blood off of her face during the brief break they had taken in the night, but her clothes were still stained red; her hair was matted with dirt and blood, making it clump together and sticky as he desperately wished to see her silver eyes open, even for just a second; just so he could see that she would be alright. She was gone within seconds, being whisked away to the hospital, no doubt she would be under guard from now on.

Itachi turned his dark gaze onto the Hokage as the old man sighed and smoked his long pipe.

"Hokage-sama…" Itachi said hesitantly, he trailed off, unsure of what to even say to him.

"I'll see you in my office later, Itachi-san. You need to inform me of what happened."

"…Hai," Itachi replied quietly. The Sandaime turned on his heel and began to walk towards the Hokage tower. "Hokage-sama…what will happen to her?"

There was a pause as the Sandaime exhaled the smoke as it curled up into the sky above him and got carried away on the wind.

"The officials and I will discuss this; for now, please go and inform Hoshiko-chan's mother that she is in the hospital."

Itachi nodded even though the Hokage had his back to him, he watched him disappeared into the crowd of villagers as Itachi craned his neck up to watch the sun descend behind the Hokage stone faces.

* * *

"I heard that Hoshiko has been admitted to the hospital, along with Hatake Kakashi," Danzo stated to his orange haired Root member as he kneeled before him in the underground complex. "Did they suspect anything?"

"No, Danzo-sama. I made sure that I wasn't found out."

 _Renji and Mon had finished with their comrades that they had been instructed on eliminating by Hoshiko. The two Konoha Shinobi lay on the ground, technically 'dead' as Mon looked over his shoulder at his teammate._

" _We should head down now, Itachi is making his move now," Mon said to Renji as the rat masked Shinobi nodded. Mon hurried out of the room as Renji glanced over his shoulder and saw his_ Kage Bunshin _hiding in a corner, they both nodded to each other as the real Renji followed his comrade out of the room._

 _The clone waited until he heard the sounds of a battle from outside, keeping his chakra signature as low as possible he moved to the balcony where they had entered the room._

 _His keen golden eyes scanned the ground for Hoshiko, he saw her locked in a battle with the Uchiha prodigy, he could sense his real self off in the forest, adhering to her orders from before, it allowed him the alibi if they ever assumed that he had something to do with this. He waited for his opportune moment to injure the girl like Danzo-sama had ordered him too._

 _There!_

 _He watched as Hoshiko jumped into the air to avoid Itachi's fireball heading for her, while also preparing to dodge an attack of kunai from Itachi's clone. Renji held out his hands with his index, middle fingers and thumb joined to create a circle as he focused on her body in the center._

"Shintenshin no jutsu."

 _Renji didn't need to completely control her body, he only needed to cloud her judgment and make it so that she failed to dodge one of the weapons heading for her. His jutsu connected as he focused all of his efforts into making sure that Hoshiko had no idea that he was currently in her mind. As he looked through her eyes, seeing Itachi launching the kunai at her, he warped her vision so that Hoshiko could only see two kunai heading for her. He knew he had to be quick, Itachi had his Sharingan activated and would soon realize that he was here._

 _Before the kunai pierced her flesh Renji released the jutsu and returned to his body. The clone heard the scream as the_ Kage Bunshin _was released and all the information was sent to the real Renji._

"What happened next?" Danzo asked; looking pleased at what his subordinate had told him. For once, something had gone his way, and not only did Hoshiko get injured, but so did that annoying Kakashi who always knew too much.

"It must have been instinctual, she made contact with Kakashi's skin and began to absorb his chakra into her own body, her wound healed at an impeccable rate and Kakashi was almost killed before the Uchiha stopped the connection."

Danzo 'tsk'd' as he tapped his cane onto the ground, a lot of things could've been avoided and things could've progressed a lot faster if Hoshiko had in fact killed Kakashi. Danzo assumed that Itachi had to of known about Hoshiko's ability beforehand if he was able to save Kakashi and not have his own chakra absorbed by Hoshiko at the same time.

There was a silence between them for a few minutes before Danzo smirked and bowed his head, "you have done well."

"Thank you, Danzo-sama."

"This is just the first step. I must inform our ally about this advancement; for now, keep your distance from the girl, we mustn't let anyone suspect that we had any hand in what transpired."

"Hai."

* * *

 **TuTheTofu -** Thank you so much for your kind review! I'm pretty sure there must be a few typos in my story somewhere xD But thank you for saying that, I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope that I don't disappoint.

 **Sora4D -** Thank you so much!

 **Let me know what you guys think about the story so far and what you think about Hoshiko and Itachi's relationship so far!**


	7. A Guilty Conscience

**Thank you for all the follows and reviews guys! I love knowing that people are enjoying my story! I hope you enjoy this one and let me know what you thought about this chapter!**

* * *

 _A Guilty Conscience_

 **Onyx and Ivory  
**

* * *

" _Kakashi…take care of…Rin."_

" _Yeah."_

* * *

" _Kakashi, you have to kill me!"_

* * *

" _Rin!"_

* * *

Hoshiko's eyes opened slowly as she flinched away from the harsh lighting coming from the window to the right of her hospital bed. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, her limbs felt like lead and every time she breathed it caused her pain in her chest. Her mind kept on replaying the strange dream that she kept having; it was like it was on a loop. She recognized Kakashi in her dream, although he was a child and was with two people whom she had never seen or heard of before, she could feel the immense sadness within her just thinking about the deaths she had witnessed in her dream.

Hoshiko tried to figure out why she was in the hospital, the last thing she remembered was taking her ANBU exam, her and her team had just taken out the enemies in the house and prepared to fight their way out when it all just died off and faded into blackness.

Hoshiko managed to lift up her arm and rub her eyes, her arm felt heavy as something caught her gaze on the bedside table to her right. A small vase was filled with a handful of wildflowers, a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as Hoshiko braced her hands on the mattress and tried to push herself into a sitting position.

"I wouldn't move if I were you, your body is sure to be sore."

A voice spoke from the doorway. Hoshiko turned her head, her long dark hair falling over her shoulder as she saw Itachi closing the door behind him and walking to her bed. Hoshiko grunted and dropped back down onto the bed as she studied Itachi; he was dressed in his usual black high collared shirt and crème trousers, his dark hair was as sleek as ever, pulled back into the low ponytail.

"I feel like I was dragged through a field of thorns," Hoshiko groaned as she heard Itachi chuckle deep in his throat. Hoshiko met his dark gaze as Itachi looked away and walked over to the cupboard and took out a large pillow and shuffled back to her bed.

"Here," he said quietly as he reached out for her as he moved his arm behind her shoulders and lifted her up gently. Hoshiko bit her tongue from the pain of her stomach being bent as Itachi placed the pillow behind her and let her fall gently onto the raised pillow.

"Thank you," Hoshiko replied as she smiled up at him, she felt better and more awake now that she was sitting up straight. As Hoshiko met his dark gaze once more, she found herself feeling hurt that Itachi averted his eyes from her the second they had made contact; it was like he couldn't look at her. Hoshiko then studied his face and posture, his shoulders were tense and his fists were clenched by his side. She could see the muscles in his jaw tightening at the same time, she had known Itachi long enough to realize that something was bothering him, or something was making him uneasy; and Hoshiko had a sneaking suspicion that it was about her.

"I may not be a genius," she said as Itachi tensed up even more, "but I can tell that you're avoiding something."

"It's nothing," Itachi replied. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

"Then why wont you look at me?"

There was a few seconds where Itachi did nothing, but then—slowly he turned his face and met her eyes. She was scrutinizing him with her piercing gaze.

"Better?" He muttered to her. Hoshiko could see some of the tension leave his body but he was still hiding something from her.

"No," she said flatly, turning her face away from his as Itachi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know what you want from me," Itachi sighed in exasperation as the flowers on Hoshiko bedside table caught her attention once more.

"Who brought me them?" She asked, completely changing the subject and infuriating Itachi, she always seemed to do that. "I'm sure you didn't take time out of your busy schedule to pick them for me," she muttered with a smirk.

"No, I didn't. Sasuke did."

"What?" Hoshiko exclaimed, turned to face him, shock evident on her face. "Your brother hates me," she stated.

"On the contrary," Itachi replied, holding her gaze, "he was very distraught when he heard you had been brought here."

Hoshiko snorted and laughed, then winced when a pain shot through her body at the movements. When she had settled she brought her hands together and folded them in her lap, her mood had dropped.

"Itachi…what happened? Why am I here?" She finally asked the question that Itachi had been dreading to answer. He looked out the window; it was almost midday in Konoha, two days after they had returned from the border. Kakashi was still unconscious, for some reason his chakra coils were taking longer to restore, it must've been because of Hoshiko's Kekkei Genkai. Itachi didn't know how to tell Hoshiko that she was here because she almost killed Kakashi; but he was also grateful, as it seemed that Hoshiko had no recollection of what had happened.

"You don't remember?" Itachi asked her as Hoshiko glared at him.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking, _baka_."

Itachi was relieved that her sarcasm hadn't been affected, or was he disappointed that it wasn't the case?

"You were injured during your exam, you and I were fighting and you failed to dodge a kunai that I had thrown; you hit your head and blacked out. We brought you back here to be healed," Itachi explained to her monotonously as Hoshiko eyed him up. She crossed her arms over her stomach and pouted.

"Just kill me now then."

Itachi frowned at her, "What?"

Hoshiko sighed, "I'm a poor excuse of a Kunoichi if I can't even dodge a simple kunai. Just end my life here and save me the humiliation!" She exclaimed loudly, hitting her head back against the metal railing. Itachi sighed in relief; it was a time like this that he was glad Hoshiko was easily manipulated.

"Kakashi is never going to let me live this down, neither is Shisui! Even Sasuke! I'm going to be the laughing stock of the village!" Hoshiko groaned as she rubbed her hands down her face. Itachi had to resist the urge to laugh at her apparent suffering, even if she was bedridden, Hoshiko's temper could rival that of Tsunade.

"Itachi, I'm begging you, take that vase and just smash it over my head, save me the trouble of facing everyone out there ever again!" Hoshiko continued to prattle on as the Uchiha heir shook his head and sighed.

"I'm a failure! I don't even deserve to be in ANBU, I'm going to have to live out the remainder of my days in solitude and beg for work!"

Hoshiko was always the one for dramatics.

The door opened loudly as Shisui came bounding in.

"Ohayo, Hoshiko-chan!"

Hoshiko groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead, "Just add to my misery!"

Shisui laughed and walked up to her bed with a large grin on his face.

"Don't say that, I heard your exam was a knockout," Shisui said with a wink as Hoshiko stared at him with a blank face.

Itachi sighed and shut his eyes in annoyance, how he wanted to throttle his cousin right now; every time that he tried to be funny, it always backfired on him. When he opened his eyes again, he watched as Hoshiko smoothly reached over to the vase of flowers with one hand; he realized what she was going to do in a second.

"Hoshiko!" He exclaimed, reaching for her arm just as she intended to bring the vase down over her head.

"No! Let me do it!" She said through gritted teeth as her and Itachi fought over the vase. Even in her weakened state, she was still strong. Shisui hurried over to the other side of the bed and pulled on her arms.

"Hoshiko! Let go!"

"No!" She screeched back to Shisui.

"What is going on in here?" A nurse said as she appeared in the doorway as the three teens froze. Itachi and Shisui were on either side of Hoshiko, gripping onto her arms and trying to pull the vase out of her grip, Hoshiko was stuck in the middle with sweat dripping down the side of her forehead as Shisui tugged on the vase and it came sliding out of Hoshiko's grip easily.

"You again!" The nurse hissed with an angry glare at Shisui. The teen grimaced and shoved the vase into Itachi's hands.

"I didn't do anything," Shisui tried to reason as the nurse stormed over to the eldest Uchiha.

"I warned you to not come back in here, you caused a ruckus and Ginyoru-san needs her rest!" The nurse scolded as she reached for Shisui's ear and pinched it harshly. Shisui yelped in pain as she began dragging him out of the room.

"I was just trying to help!" Shisui argued but the nurse didn't pay him any mind. She threw him out of the room and shut the door, turning to face the remaining occupants in the room.

"And you, Uchiha-san," the nurse rounded on Itachi as the Uchiha heir swallowed loudly. "You should know better then to let Ginyoru-san exert herself, now run along, she needs her rest; you can come back later," she ordered briskly as Itachi set the vase down on the other beside table and walked quickly out of the room. After seeing what the nurse had just done to Shisui, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

The nurse walked over to Hoshiko as she smiled gently and patted her on the head, "There, I'm sure having those two around they can be quite the handful. They've always been close since they were young," the nurse said as she began taking Hoshiko's observations. Hoshiko frowned as she tried to piece together what she was saying.

"You know them?"

"Of course, I'm an Uchiha," she stated as she took Hoshiko's temperature. Hoshiko frowned, there had been something she had wanted to ask Itachi, but she had been so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten to ask him. It had been about her dream with Kakashi and the two other people. When she thought back on it, there was no way that any of that had happened, but yet she had dreamt it so vividly and it had felt so real to her.

"Is something wrong?" The nurse asked, concerned. Hoshiko met her kind, dark eyed gaze. This woman was an Uchiha, she might possibly know. She would probably think she was crazy.

"I was wondering…" Hoshiko started hesitantly, she wanted to shrug it off, it was only a silly dream…but she couldn't shake the feeling that it could've been something more. "Is there an Uchiha…Obito?"

The nurse froze, and Hoshiko felt the breath catch in her throat as the Uchiha woman stared at her.

"There was," she said sadly. "He was killed during the Third Shinobi War almost ten years ago. He was a very happy boy, always had a smile on his face."

Hoshiko stared at her wide-eyed. She was terrified, what were the chances that she had a dream about a boy that was killed ten years ago? She had never heard the name from anyone before and yet she knew about him, she could picture what he looked like in her mind as clear as day.

 _What the hell is going on?_ She thought.

"How did he die, do you know?" Hoshiko asked. In her dream, Obito had been crushed by a boulder while trying to rescue a young girl called Rin, the same girl that Hoshiko had watched be killed by Kakashi. In her dream, Obito had sacrificed himself to save his friends, giving Kakashi his Sharingan…but this was all a dream…

"I'm not sure, but I know that he was on a team with Hatake Kakashi; they were friends if I remember correctly, you can ask him when he wakes up."

"When he wakes up?" Hoshiko asked, furrowing her brows at the nurse. The nurse had been fetching a clean sheet from the store cupboard as she nodded her head to Hoshiko and walked back to her.

"Yes, poor thing was admitted the same day you were, had a nasty accident."

"He's here?" Hoshiko asked. The nurse nodded her head.

"He's just down the hall. He's lucky to be alive, when he came in his chakra levels were dangerously low. That can happen with excessive use of his Sharingan…oh," she said suddenly in revelation, "that reminds me, Kakashi-san's Sharingan came from Uchiha Obito."

Hoshiko felt her insides churn at the news, her mouth became dry and her fingers dug into the sheet underneath her hand.

There was no way that this was a coincidence, how could Hoshiko know this? She had dreamed of this Obito, come to think of it, in her dream she had _been_ Kakashi, she had seen everything from his point of view; but why? How?

Hoshiko felt a hand on her shoulder as she followed the limb with her eyes until she reached the nurses kind gaze.

"I'm sure Kakashi-san will be fine, he'll wake up soon…after all—you did."

Hoshiko brushed her hand away from her shoulder and threw the cover off her legs.

"I need to go and see him," Hoshiko said as she tried to push herself off the bed.

"Ginyoru-san!" The nurse exclaimed, running around the bed and pushing on her shoulders gently. "You are far too weak to be walking around!"

Hoshiko forced her hands away and stood from her bed, pain shot through her whole body as she groaned and took a step, when her foot hit the cold ground her leg buckled and she fell to the ground.

"Ginyoru-san!" The nurse exclaimed as she tried to help her back up. Due to Hoshiko's ever-large pride, she refused the help and shrugged her off.

"I can do it," she grumbled venomously as Hoshiko tried to pull herself up off the ground, although her attempts were futile. Hoshiko tried to block out all the pain that she was feeling, her stomach was on fire and her whole body was shaking.

She reluctantly accepted the nurse's help as the older woman gripped her under her arms and pulled her onto the bed, Hoshiko let out a sigh of relief when her body relaxed onto the pillows.

"You need at least one more days rest, your body has been strained far too much."

"Strained? But I thought I hit my head and blacked out," Hoshiko asked in confusion. The nurse jotted something down on her chart at the end of her bed.

"You blacked out from your chakra coils becoming too full, it causes a great strain on the body when it has more chakra than it needs. It's why you're feeling so sore all over, your body is releasing the excess chakra slowly out of your skin and until it's all gone you wont be able to move much."

Hoshiko continued to stare at the nurse, what was she saying? Itachi had told her that she had been stabbed by a kunai and hit her head, that's why she was in the hospital; but this nurse was telling her a different story…she didn't know what was going on.

"I'll be back in a few hours to check on you, I have your word you'll stay in bed?" The nurse asked with a pointed look, Hoshiko was still dazed and confused about all the information that she had gotten, she hadn't even registered what she had said, she only inclined her head slightly, nodding to please the nurse. With a kind smile the nurse slid open the door and shut it behind her, leaving Hoshiko alone in the room.

* * *

Hoshiko stared out the window, seeing the large oak tree's branches swaying in the wind outside. She imagined being outside, feeling the wind on her face and the warm sun caressing her tanned skin; instead she tried to piece together the puzzle. Why had Itachi lied to her? He hadn't even mentioned anything to her about Kakashi being in the hospital, he had obviously gotten injured while on her exam, the nurse had said that he had been brought in with low chakra levels, while he had said that she had knocked herself out, but the nurse said that she had burnt out her chakra coils with excessive chakra consumption. Hoshiko had a feeling that the two of them were linked somehow.

She looked down at her clenched fist on top of the white sheet, she squeezed it, feeling the tense muscles as she released it and sighed. Her and Kakashi being in the hospital wasn't the only strange thing to happen, she had dreamt about this boy that had died ten years ago. She knew his name, knew how he died and had seen him give Kakashi his Sharingan. The things that she couldn't possibly know, she did; and it scared her.

Hoshiko knew that she had to find Kakashi; she had to see for herself if he was truly injured. She knew that she promised the nurse that she would stay in bed but when had she ever listened to anyone's advice?

She kicked off the blanket and swung her legs around, planting them on the floor as she inhaled and stood shakily. Her legs shook, but held her weight. She took a step, her hand holding onto the bed as pins shot up through her whole body. Hoshiko grimaced in pain as she took another step, and then another. She walked around to the vase of flowers and grasped it in her hand, holding it tightly to her chest as she slowly walked to the door.

She pressed her ear to the door, listening for sounds of anyone walking by, she would've used her chakra senses, but she didn't want to risk damaging herself anymore then she already was. Hoshiko slid the door open soundlessly and peeked her head out, she looked up and down the corridor, seeing it empty as she stepped out and shut the door behind her. Hoshiko stuck to the wall, using one hand to brace herself against it as she slowly walked. She could feel the perspiration accumulating on her face from her exertion as she continued to take deep breaths.

Hoshiko paused outside of rooms and peered in, trying to find Kakashi's room, she hoped that he was somewhere on this level, she didn't even want to try and climb the stairs, she'd much rather go back to her room and have Shisui tease her all over again. At the last room she prayed with all her might that she had the right room, she slid open the door and let her eyes adjust to the dark room. The curtains had been drawn over the window so only small amounts of light filtered in, but to Hoshiko's delight she spotted spikey silver hair and a half covered face under white sheets. Hoshiko checked over her shoulder one last time, to make sure that no one was near the room as she stepped in and shut the door behind her. The room was bathed in darkness as she slowly shuffled up to the bed. She felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of Kakashi.

He looked terrible, his face was pale, large purple bruises were under his eyes and his cheeks looked very hollow, it was like all the energy had been sucked out of him. Hoshiko set down the small vase of flowers on his bedside table and then walked to the foot of his bed and picked up his medical chart. She had to know the real reason why Kakashi was in the hospital. She glanced over it quickly, not understand many of the medical terms, as she skimmed down to the bottom, which read his condition.

Her eyes widened in fear as she dropped the clipboard on the floor as it clattered loudly to the ground, she jumped from the sound, stumbling back into the wall as she held her chest. There was a sharp ache in her chest as she could feel hot tears in the corner of her silver eyes; she shook her head, trying to rid herself of these feelings.

 _I'm responsible for this!_ She screamed to herself as she took one more look at Kakashi. She fought back the painful tears as she turned and ran for the door; her whole body protested, her limbs felt like they were about to drop off but she ran anyway; she would much rather feel this pain then the pain of being the one to cause Kakashi's injuries.

She wrenched the door open, it smacked loudly as she tumbled out of the room. Hoshiko held her throat…air; she needed air! She needed to get out of the hospital; she couldn't be here any longer!

* * *

Itachi entered the hospital a few hours later after being kicked out with Shisui, Hoshiko's mother, Hiroka was by his side as she hurried over to the stairs. When Itachi had been shunned from the hospital he had gone to Hiroka's work and told her that Hoshiko was now awake. The mother had been delighted and told the Uchiha heir that her shift was over in a few hours so she would go and visit her then. She would've gone straight away but she had spent the past two days by Hoshiko's bedside and had missed enough work, she had bills to pay and they wouldn't pay for themselves.

Itachi had been courteous enough to offer to pay for any bills that she had missed from having two days off work by the woman was stubborn and had outright refused his help. Itachi wasn't offended by her refusal, he just wanted to see Hoshiko's mother happy, she had been a complete mess when she had been brought back unconscious. Hiroka had been screaming and crying, thinking that her daughter was somehow going to end up like her dead father; it had taken some time but Itachi had managed to calm her down enough to talk some sense into her and reveal what had really happened.

Hiroka was devastated that Hoshiko had unlocked her Kekkei Genkai, she knew the risks and what her daughter was capable of now. She feared more so that the villagers would go back to shunning them once news spread that her Kekkei Genkai was activated. Itachi explained to her that he intended to keep the truth from her for as long as possible and break it to her slowly; if Hoshiko found out that she had almost killed Kakashi…needless to say that Hiroka agreed with him.

Itachi followed the mother up the stairs and onto the second floor of the hospital; the smell of disinfectant was strong up here as they passed a few nurses and doctors on their way up.

They reached the top of the stairs as Itachi held open the door for Hiroka as she thanked him and walked through. The two of them were passing the nurse station when a familiar female nurse came sprinting towards them, panic on her face.

"Doctor!" She called out as Itachi stalled and lingered behind as Hiroka continued walking towards Hoshiko's room. Itachi watched as the nurse reached a doctor and pointed down the corridor. "The patient from room two-oh-two is missing!"

"What?" The doctor exclaimed. Itachi frowned. That room number seemed familiar to him.

"Ah!" A scream came for Hiroka as Itachi's eyes blazed red as he sprinted to her side. Hiroka was shaking as she stared into the empty room. Itachi scanned the room, the bed sheet had been drawn back and the window was wide open, the white curtains flowing in the cool breeze that wafted into the room.

"Where is she?" Hiroka yelled loudly, turning to Itachi as the young Uchiha looked around the room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary…except something was missing; aside from Hoshiko. His keen eyes narrowed at the empty bedside table where Itachi was positive he had placed the vase that Hoshiko had tried to commit self-harm with. His eyes widened in realization as he spun on his heel and bolted out of the room.

"Itachi-kun!"

He paid no heed to Hiroka as he ran down the long corridor; coming to the end room he knew was Kakashi's room. Before he had even reached the room he could see the open door and he knew instantly that Hoshiko had found him. He burst in, half expecting to see her standing there waiting for him with her signature smirk, saying something along the lines of, 'bet I had you worried, didn't I?'

The room was empty except for Kakashi, who was still unconscious. Itachi's crimson eyes spotted the clipboard on the floor as he marched over to it and picked it up. His eyes scanned the room as they settled on the vase of flowers that he recognized as the ones from her room as he sighed and placed the clipboard on the bed. Itachi's eyes faded to his normal darkness as he heard Hiroka come running into the room.

"Is she here?" Hiroka asked desperately. The woman's eyes were immediately drawn to Kakashi. Itachi could feel the guilt coming off Hiroka as he brushed passed her.

"I'll find her."

"You don't think she's left the village, do you?" Hiroka asked him as Itachi stalled at the door.

"…No," he muttered hesitantly, truth be told, he had no idea what Hoshiko was going to do now that she obviously knew she was to blame for Kakashi's condition. "Don't worry, she couldn't have gone far," Itachi said with a firm nod as Hiroka sighed worriedly. When Itachi knew that she wasn't going to ask him any more questions he briskly walked to the hospitals exit.

* * *

The first place that Itachi checked was Hoshiko's home, he arrived in record time as he stared up at the window that was open a tiny bit that led into Hoshiko's room. He leapt up onto the side of the building and opened up the window so that the space was large enough for him to fit in as he climbed through and brushed down his clothes once he was in. He felt like he was breaking and entering, technically he was but he chose to ignore the little voice in his head, as he glanced around the room.

Hoshiko had been here, her draws were open and the hospital clothes were strewn across her floor, Itachi sighed, it'd be harder to find her now seeing as she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd in the stark white garments. Itachi did a quick check of any chakra signatures in the house, he didn't think Hoshiko would have enough energy to actually to mask her chakra completely like she normally could, so hopefully it will be easier to find her; even if she did have a couple hours head start on him.

The next place he tried was the training ground where they frequented, it was a long shot at best, if Hoshiko didn't want to be found then there was a slim chance that she would be here; but Itachi had to look anyway.

"Hoshiko!" He called out into the wind. There was silence all around him except for the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves. He activated his Sharingan, searching the nearby area, looking for any signs of chakra nearby, but it was futile. Hoshiko wasn't here.

Itachi left the training ground and went to the Uchiha complex next, again this was a long shot and he doubted Hoshiko was going to be here but he had to look nonetheless. Itachi found himself standing outside the familiar house as he knocked on the door. He could sense the familiar chakra signature approaching the door as it opened and Shisui stared at his cousin, perplexed.

"Itachi, what are you doing here?" Shisui asked.

"Has Hoshiko been here?" Itachi replied. Shisui smirked and leaned against the door.

"Oh, what's the matter? Having a lovers quarrel?"

"Shisui…" Itachi warned his cousin with a glare as he older Uchiha chuckled and waved him off.

"I'm teasing, Itachi, don't be so defensive."

"Has she been here?" Itachi asked once more as Shisui sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"No, she hasn't. I thought she wasn't being released until tomorrow?" Shisui enquired. Itachi looked away, the guilt on his face.

"She snuck out. I believe she discovered the truth about what happened."

"…Shit."

"My thought exactly," Itachi agreed. He met his cousin's gaze as Shisui rubbed his chin.

"I haven't seen her. I'd help you look but I need to help your Otou-san with preparations for the meeting tonight."

Itachi inwardly cursed, he had forgotten all about the clan meeting. He frowned in frustration.

"You will be coming tonight, wont you?" Shisui asked him. Itachi bit his tongue and glared at the ground.

"If I can find her in time."

"Itachi…" Shisui said warningly. Itachi narrowed his eyes at Shisui. "You know the elders are getting more suspicious of you lately, pretty soon they'll be having you followed," Shisui said in a hushed voice. Normally they would talk about these matters near the Naka waterfall, it was their designated meeting place but Shisui suspected that Itachi wouldn't be up for a stroll right about now.

"Let them," Itachi muttered as Shisui sighed.

"You know what they're planning, Itachi. It's all going to be happening soon and we need to be prepared."

"I understand, Shisui," Itachi replied shortly. Shisui didn't say that he was letting his friendship with Hoshiko cloud his judgment. He decided to let it go for tonight, nothing he said would get through his cousin's hard head.

"I'll cover for you tonight, but try and come. We need to try and delay it for as long as possible, I can't do it without you."

"Thank you, Shisui." Itachi said with a curt nod as he turned and leapt up into the air and across the house roofs.

* * *

The moon had risen over Konoha. Itachi had been searching for Hoshiko for nearly half a day. He had checked almost every single part of Konoha looking for the girl but he had yet to come across her or find someone who had seen her at all. He wasn't too worried, the night wasn't cold seeing as it was still the middle of summer but there was a feeling of dread in Itachi's stomach that maybe Hoshiko had left the village. If that was the case though, surely the barrier surrounding Konoha would've been breached and he would've been notified, so Hoshiko was definitely inside Konoha that much was clear; he just couldn't figure out where she would be.

He had looked at all the training grounds, the market district, the hot springs, the bridge where they frequently met at and even the academy, Hoshiko's most hated place in the whole village; which was why Itachi checked there.

He could feel his anger rising, it didn't happen very often, he was normally able to keep a cool head with certain things, but Hoshiko had a way of getting under his skin and this was one of those times.

It wasn't like he _had_ to search for her, he was doing it out of obligation for her mother, she was probably worried sick about her daughter, she had just acquired her Kekkei Genkai and found out that she had injured one of her friends; she was worried that Hoshiko might go on a rampage with her new power, it wouldn't be the first time that a Mizukiri user had gone mad with excessive chakra absorption. He definitely wasn't looking for her because he _wanted_ to, he was also doing it because she was technically his responsibility; he was her senpai, he had been for almost three years now and the fact that he was inadvertently the one who had caused this. If he hadn't thrown the kunai at her she wouldn't have needed to dodge them and get struck by one, causing her to unleash her new power; in a way Itachi felt responsible for everything that had happened over the past couple of days and he felt the need to fix it.

And then there was that little annoying voice in his head, whispering to him that there was a small part of him that was actually looking for her because he cared about her. Hoshiko was one of the few people who understood his stoic ways, and he was one of only a handful of people who could tolerate her condescending mannerisms and sarcastic behavior. You could count the total of people on one hand…

Hoshiko understood what it was like to bear the brunt of the villagers hatred, he had felt it first hand also when the village blamed the Uchiha for the Kyuubi attack which killed the Yondaime Hokage. Although the hate had died down, there were still people who believed this and the village officials still believed this, causing a rift between the Uchiha and the Village Elders.

So as much as Itachi hated to admit it, there was a small part of him that was searching for Hoshiko because he wanted to.

* * *

Itachi appeared atop the Yondaime Hokage stone face, he stood on one of the hair spikes as his crimson eyes scanned over the village. He had literally checked everywhere for the girl, and still there was no sign of her.

Something drew his attention to the right, from where he stood he could see the large Uchiha complex and beyond that was the winding Naka river that flowed through the village and down a large waterfall. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he studied the area, from here he couldn't make out the waterfall exactly as it was only by going through dense bush land that you came to it but Itachi realized that it was the one place that he hadn't searched for her.

There wasn't a strong chance that she would be there, Itachi had never even spoken of the place to her before; it was the secret meeting place of Shisui and himself; but something compelled him to go towards there. There wasn't really anywhere else for him to check, and if by chance that she was there, then his search was complete and he could drag her back to the hospital by the ends of her hair.

* * *

Itachi neared the exit of the trees that would take him to the Naka waterfall; they had begun to thin out as he finally sensed her chakra signature. He let out a sigh of relief that he had finally found her; her signature was stronger then it was from earlier in the day, telling Itachi that she was fine and hadn't hurt herself from leaving the hospital. The other annoying thing was the fact that she had been in fact masking her own chakra, it was only then that she had popped up in his Sharingan gaze; he was amazed at the fact that even in her wounded state she was still able to complete erase her chakra signature from him.

Itachi emerged from the trees, spotting her immediately; she was sitting at the edge of the cliff, her back to him. Her hair was loose, reaching to the middle of her back as it swayed softly in the gentle wind blowing. She was wearing her sleeveless black shirt and long black trousers. The moon had just risen above the waterfall, making the grass around him shimmer in the night as he slowly walked to her. He knew that she knew he was there, she hadn't unmasked herself for no apparent reason, she had wanted him to find her now. Itachi knew that if Hoshiko didn't want to be found, she wouldn't; which meant that there was a reason why he was here, and Itachi was dreading it.

He knew that he would have to answer any questions that she asked him, she deserved that at least; but before he succumbed to her, he wanted to at least scold her for making his search all over the damn village for her when she was sitting out in the open waiting for him.

"Do you have any idea how long I have been looking for you?" Itachi asked her with the annoyance in his tone. Hoshiko didn't turn her head to face him.

"I know, I could sense you running all over the village, it was quite comical," she said with a flat tone.

"Your Okaa-san is worried about you."

"I guessed as much," replied Hoshiko. Itachi bristled at her apparent lack of sympathy but stepped up so that he was standing by her side. He didn't looked down at her, he stared at the waterfall, watching the galleons of water falling down and being carried away by the current. Sometimes he wished that the current would carry him far away from all his duties in Konoha, but then he banished the thought, if he left, who would pick up the pieces?

"Itachi," Hoshiko said his name as the Uchiha looked down at her, he was surprised to see her staring at him already. The way the moonlight hit her face; Itachi could see the still wet tear tracks that marked her cheeks. "I was the one who almost killed Kakashi, wasn't I?"

Itachi inhaled as he prepared to answer her.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! I just love writing a character that is so sarcastic and the comical scene's between Shisui, Itachi and Hoshiko! Let me know what you all thought about the chapter as a whole, I'd love to know!**

 **Sarette** \- Thank you! I'm glad you're liking their relationship, I find it so cute between them as they obviously have no idea what they mean to each other yet, they're still in that oblivious phase ahaha


	8. Love of a Village

Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I'm only writing this story when I have free time as I have another account on here with stories that I'm currently writing also, but hopefully you enjoy this one. Thanks everyone for your reviews and alerts!

* * *

 _Love of a Village_

 **Onyx and Ivor**

* * *

"Itachi?" Hoshiko called his name when he still hadn't answered her. The Uchiha sighed as he looked away from her gaze.

"Yes, you were the one who hurt Kakashi-san."

Itachi heard a disgruntled sound come from Hoshiko as he took a peek at her, she had angled her face down to the ground, her hands were clasped together tightly and he could see the slight shake of her body. Itachi could have chosen to lie to her; it probably would've been the best option considering the effort Hoshiko's mother and father had put in to keeping her Kekkei Genkai a secret from her this entire time.

"My Kekkei Genkai…?" She questioned, her voice barely a whisper.

"You unlocked the power and drew from Kakashi-san, healing yourself and draining him of his chakra."

There was silence between the two teens, broken only by the sound of the river and waterfall before them.

"Dammit!" Hoshiko shouted as her clenched fist punched the ground next to her. Itachi was silent as he studied her chakra flow. It was jumpy, indicating that she wasn't fully healed from using the Mizukiri; the colour was burning brightly, informing him that she was extremely worked up from the revelation. Itachi sighed and realized that he would have to calm her down and make her see reason.

"You should not blame yourself for hurting him," Itachi told her as she gazed over at him. Her silver eyes reflected the moonlight, making them seem like they were glowing, much like when she had drained Kakashi; but Itachi was not afraid of her.

"But I could've killed—"

"You didn't." Itachi cut her off with a firm look, "use this to become stronger, to protect those around you."

"How can I protect when this ability can only hurt those I care about?" Hoshiko asked him, the pain evident on her face.

"You can find a way, I know you can," Itachi said with confidence. Hoshiko furrowed her brows and looked out to the waterfall.

"I don't want to be seen as a monster. Everyone will think that I'm becoming one of _them_ , I don't want to be an outsider anymore; I want to protect the village."

"Then prove it to them," Itachi stated. Hoshiko didn't meet his gaze but she listened, "If you want to be acknowledged by the villagers then show them that you are dedicated to it."

"How would I do that? Become Hokage?" Hoshiko asked with a scoff, "No one wants to see an outsider become Hokage, but I guess it would make everyone acknowledge me," Hoshiko mused as she sighed.

"Becoming Hokage doesn't mean that everyone will acknowledge you," Itachi explained as Hoshiko met his dark gaze. "It is the one who is acknowledged by all that can become Hokage."

Her mouth parted slightly and Itachi could see that she was going over his words in her head. It was a few seconds before she smirked and chuckled lowly.

"I guess you're right, Itachi- _baka_."

Itachi smirked at the name, knowing that Hoshiko was going to be just fine now, he was glad; it was getting very late and her mother would be frantic about her, not to mention his own father would be scolding him for missing another meeting.

"You should head home now," Itachi told her as he saw Hoshiko's shoulders tense up. He furrowed his brows and waited for her to speak, he was ever more perplexed when he heard her start to laugh under her breath as she turned her head to look at him with a sheepish grin.

"About that…" Hoshiko said as she scratched her head. "I can't actually move my body, I think I'm still suffering side-effects from the Mizukiri."

Itachi sighed in exasperation and shut his eyes for a second, cursing Hoshiko silently as he opened them.

Hoshiko watched as Itachi stepped closer to her and turned his back and then knelt down to the ground, offering his back to her. Hoshiko felt her cheeks heat up with a bashful blush at the thought of having Itachi give her a piggyback ride. Hoshiko cleared her throat but made no move to latch herself onto Itachi's back as the older Uchiha looked over his shoulder at her. His onyx gaze bore into hers as the blush on her cheeks darkened even more so.

"Would you prefer I carry you the other way?" Itachi offered with a slight smirk, invoking a response in Hoshiko as she spluttered and crossed her arms.

"N-no! This is fine!" She said quickly and reached out to pull her body onto his back. Her arms were fine for the most part, it was her lower half that had gone completely unresponsive and numb a few hours ago, Hoshiko assumed it was because she had used that part of her body before it was fully recovered from her Mizukiri. She gripped onto his firm shoulders and hoisted herself up, her arms shook from the exertion as his arms hooked under her numb legs as he stood up. Her body was pressed flat against his as his warmth seeped through her clothes. Her arms hung around his neck as Itachi held up the majority of her weight; it wasn't much effort seeing as Hoshiko was made like a stick.

Itachi turned and began walking back towards the village. The blush never left Hoshiko's cheeks as she rested her cheek against his shoulder, every time that she breathed in through her nose, she could faintly smell the scent of Itachi's hair from the soap that he used. It smelt like vanilla and his body aroma had a hint of dumplings, maybe because he ate it so much he was morphing into a dumpling.

Hoshiko chuckled at her train of thought as Itachi inclined his head.

"What is so funny?" He asked her as Hoshiko shook her head.

"It's nothing," she replied, earning a glare from the Uchiha.

Itachi carried Hoshiko on his back through the village, it was very late and there were no villagers out at this time. Hoshiko's eyes gazed up at the four stone faces of the Hokage, Itachi's words kept on replaying in her mind as she smiled.

"Ne, Itachi?"

"Hn?" He replied, keeping his eyes focused forwards.

"Do you want to become Hokage?" She asked him, her voice was laced with sleepiness. Hoshiko felt his body vibrate from the low chuckle he emanated.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked her as Hoshiko yawned loudly in his ear.

"I think you'd be a good Hokage. You're always thinking about the village," she mumbled, resting her head down once more on his shoulder. Her eyes began to droop but she fought it fervently. Hoshiko had failed to notice that the Uchiha had ceased walking; her words had chilled him.

"Don't you think I should be focused more on my own clan then the village?" Itachi asked her, he didn't realize it; but he desperately wanted to know about what she thought of it. He knew Shisui thought the same as him, but he wanted to know what Hoshiko thought about the allegiance to a clan and to a village.

"How the hell should I know?" Hoshiko muttered bitterly, "my clan is gone," she yawned once more. "My only allegiance is to my village, and to my mother. I became a Shinobi to protect my family and my home, this is my home."

"What if someone was to hurt your home?" Itachi asked her. He knew he was treading on thin ice here, he couldn't let slip about his clan's plans, but he couldn't stop himself from asking her opinion.

"I'd protect it, from anyone."

Itachi arrived outside of Hoshiko's home; most of the lights were on, telling him that her mother was probably still waiting up for Hoshiko. It was a long walk from one side of the village to the other, and shortly after their conversation about Hokage and the village Hoshiko had fallen asleep on his back. Her arms were limp and he could feel the deep breathing on the back of his neck. Itachi juggled Hoshiko's weight with one arm as he raised the other and knocked on the door twice. He heard rapid footsteps and the door was pulled open within five seconds.

Hiroka stood there, her dark hair piled on top of her head and her kind brown eyes wide and filled with worry. A hand was held to her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Itachi with Hoshiko.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out as Itachi nodded to her. "Please bring her in, Itachi-kun." Hiroka stepped to the side and allowed him to pass as Itachi walked into the warm house.

Itachi followed Hiroka down the hall and into Hoshiko's bedroom. Hiroka had obviously been in here and cleaned up the hospital clothes from before as she hurried over to the bed and pulled back the covers and helped Itachi set her down onto the mattress. Hiroka fussed over her, pushing her hair away from her face and pulling the covers up to her chin, she felt her forehead with the back of her hand as she tossed a sad look over her shoulder at the young ANBU who stood with a stony expression.

"Thank you for finding her," she said to him as Itachi inclined his head ever so slightly.

With nothing left to say Itachi left the home.

* * *

When morning came around Hoshiko felt much better, she sat up in her bed and rubbed her sleep-crusted eyes and yawned loudly. She glanced around her room, wondering how she had in fact gotten home last night. She smiled when she remembered Itachi had probably brought her home, she faintly remembered their talk from last night about the village and Hokage as she dressed in her casual clothes of ninja shorts, sandals and her sleeveless turtleneck. She found her forehead protector among her clothes as she tied it tightly to her head. She walked out of her room and into the living area, a small smile crept over her face as she saw her mother passed out on the couch; Hoshiko didn't want to disturb her sleep so she quickly scribbled on a piece of paper that she was feeling better and would see her later. When she was finished she left her home.

Hoshiko travelled over the rooftops of Konoha as she made her way to the Uchiha compound, she wanted to give her thanks to Itachi for bringing her home last night. She leapt over a large gap and wiped the sweat from her brow, she frowned and realized that maybe she wasn't as healed as she originally thought. Another question that plagued her thoughts was if she had passed her ANBU exam? She wasn't sure if almost killing a comrade counted as a pass or fail mark, and much to her chagrin, she hadn't been able to perform the one task to be accepted into the ANBU. Hoshiko sighed as she saw the high walls of the Uchiha compound come into view. She really didn't want to be seen by anyone at the moment so taking a deep breath she began to mask her chakra and leap over the wall and onto the roofs.

Hoshiko kept a watchful eye out for anyone that would spot her, it was a known fact that the Uchiha were a secretive bunch, and some hated it when outsiders came into the compound; if she was seen with her chakra masked and looking as suspicious as she did now, she'd be done for.

The Uchiha mansion came closer to her as she jumped around the back of it and expanded her senses. She could sense Sasuke and Itachi together in the elder brothers room, Mikoto wasn't in the house but she could sense Fugaku walking towards Itachi's room. Hoshiko landed in the tree outside of Itachi's room as she could hear Sasuke's little voice from inside.

"Aniki, you never play with me anymore, you're always out on missions or training with Shisui-san or Hoshiko."

"Sorry, Sasuke; things have been a little hectic lately," Itachi replied from within.

"You mean with Hoshiko?"

There was silence within the room and Hoshiko wondered if Itachi had replied to his younger brother, she was going to knock on the window to let them both know that she was here when a new voice joined them.

"Sasuke, your brother and I need to talk," Fugaku ordered. Hoshiko felt her ears burn; she shouldn't be here right now, she knew that whatever Itachi and his father were about to discuss, it was supposed to be private. "You missed the meeting last night," Fugaku stated.

"I apologise, I was out dealing with business." Itachi replied monotonously. Hoshiko felt her stomach drop; Itachi was getting into trouble because of her.

"What kind?" Fugaku asked.

"ANBU, I cannot disclose the details, Otou-san, you understand this."

Hoshiko felt her eyes widen, Itachi had lied to his father about her, she didn't know whether to feel terrified or grateful for Itachi's deception.

"Itachi…" Fugaku said his name with annoyance, "the clan comes before anything else. I will not have you miss any more meetings, you are the heir to the Uchiha and the key to all of this—"

"Otou-san, it would be wise to discuss this at another time," Itachi interrupted his father as Hoshiko froze to the spot.

 _He knows!_

Hoshiko waited on baited breath to hear what either of them would say next.

"It seems our conversation is no longer private," Itachi continued as she heard the shuffling of feet away from the window. Her confusion growing, Hoshiko crept along the thick branch and peered into the room, only seeing enough to know that it hadn't been her that Itachi had been speaking about.

Fugaku opened up Itachi's door as the innocent little Sasuke froze to the ground, his dark eyes as wide as saucers, his face flushed a deep red at being caught eavesdropping. Hoshiko couldn't see Fugaku's face, but from Sasuke's reaction, she knows that he would be receiving an almighty scowl from his father.

"G-gomen!" Sasuke stuttered, "I just wanted to know what you two were speaking about," he said timidly.

"Sasuke," Fugaku said sternly as the young Uchiha winced at the tone of voice, "it is rude to eavesdrop of your elders conversations, and you will do well to remember that."

Sasuke nodded quickly, Hoshiko could see the embarrassed tears threatening to spill over his eyes but he held them back strongly. Fugaku turned to look back at Itachi as Hoshiko gasped quietly and ducked her head back, she prayed with everything that she had that Fugaku had not seen her just then.

"Itachi, we will discuss this later."

"Of course, Otou-san," Itachi replied formally as Hoshiko heard the door shut. She sighed quietly and leaned back against the tree trunk as she used her chakra senses quickly to see that Sasuke had hurried away, Fugaku was now downstairs and Itachi was sitting in his bedroom. She shut off her chakra senses and counted silently in her head, she'd give it a couple of minutes before getting him; she didn't want Itachi to think that she had been eavesdropping also. Though for a second there, she had definitely thought that she had been found out, if that was the case, Fugaku would've had her head. The conversation that Itachi and Fugaku had been having seemed important, she secretly wanted to know more about it, Itachi was the key to it? Hoshiko pondered the information, there was something weird going on with the Uchiha clan, and she really wanted to know what.

"It's rude to eavesdrop."

"Ah!"

Hoshiko jumped and slipped off the trunk of the tree, she quickly focused chakra into the soles of her feet and pressed them against the bark as she relaxed her body upside down. She walked calmly back onto the branch and glared at Itachi as he stood stoically with his arms crossed.

"You're just as bad as my Otouto," he said with a frustrated sigh as Hoshiko felt her face flush from embarrassment, so she had been caught after all.

"I didn't hear anything," she lied to him.

"I know, I stopped my Otou-san before he could say anything more," Itachi retorted as Hoshiko pressed her lips into a firm line. There was a noise from below them as Itachi inclined his head, realizing that if his father saw them here there would be trouble. He reached out and wrapped his long fingers around Hoshiko's wrist and tugged her along behind him as he jumped up onto the roof. "Let's go," he said to her. Hoshiko made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like a protest but followed along, it wasn't like she had a choice anyway; Itachi's grip was strong.

* * *

The pair arrived at the bridge that they sometimes frequented, it was the place where two and a half years ago they had stood here and Itachi had explained about her clan's involvement in the Third Ninja War. Itachi had relinquished his grip of Hoshiko a while back, when he knew that she would follow him, her curiosity would be the death of her one-day.

Itachi walked a few feet away from her and leaned on the railing, looking out at the view of Konoha from where they stood. Hoshiko didn't know if she should say anything to him, she didn't know if he was mad at her for eavesdropping, or for the previous night still. She shuffled her feet quietly.

"I'm sorry for getting you into trouble," she apologized to him as she heard him chuckle.

"You always get me into trouble," he replied, causing Hoshiko to smile. It dropped slightly as she remembered Fugaku's words.

"Will he be mad tonight?" She asked him as Itachi remained impassive.

"Probably," Itachi turned to face her, "you shouldn't concern yourself with Uchiha affairs, Hoshiko," he said with good intentions but Hoshiko winced at the blatant command.

"I didn't mean to!" She argued, "I was just coming by to say thank you for last night and I arrived just as your Otou-san came to your room."

"I know you did," he smirked at her, Hoshiko frowned, "You may be able to mask your chakra but I've become so attuned to it now that I can sense you even when its masked."

Hoshiko stared at him with her mouth slightly parted, she wanted to know what he meant by that, why was her ability impervious to Itachi?

"You missed your clan meeting because of me," Hoshiko muttered as she turned her gaze down to the ground. "If I hadn't been such an idiot and run away, you wouldn't be in trouble with Fugaku-san. Your clan is important and I know that. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me, forgive me—"

Hoshiko halted in her speech when she felt the tender feeling of two fingers poking her forehead. Her silver eyes shot up to meet onyx, he was smirking at her, the warmth behind his eyes was something Hoshiko had never seen before. His index and middle finger placed delicately in the middle of her forehead as a chilly gust of wind blew around them. Hoshiko felt her cheeks warm under his intense stare as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest.

"You worry too much," Itachi told her as he slowly drew his hand away from her forehead. He gave her a gentle smile as Hoshiko turned her flushed face away from him.

* * *

"Ginyoru Hoshiko."

"Hai," Hoshiko stood tall as she moved into the centre of the room. Her eyes glanced at the four people sitting at the long table at the back of the room. The Hokage sat in the middle, smoking a long pipe. Koharu, the female sat on the Sandaime's right, with Homura on the left and Danzo next to him. Hoshiko had never met the man sitting on the end with his head bandaged; she felt a chill dance up her spine every time she locked eyes with him. Even though she had never met him, she had heard about him; he was the leader of the Foundation, a group of ANBU that had been trained in vigorous ways to protect Konoha from the shadows. She was wary of the man with the dark beady eye, it was like he knew everything about her, it made her feel uncomfortable but she didn't show it. She turned her attention back to the Hokage.

"We understand, that even though you were unable to continue on with your ANBU exam, the proctors who oversaw it were more than impressed with your abilities and leadership qualities that are befitting that of an ANBU agent," the Sandaime said to her. Hoshiko felt her heart elate at the news, but the pessimist in her was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"There is one matter that we must discuss that I am sure you are aware about…"

"…My Kekkei Genkai," Hoshiko muttered, feeling the shame wash over her.

"It is a very dangerous ability that you have," he muttered, drawing from his pipe. Hoshiko nodded.

"I understand."

"I would like to ask a question." Koharu said from the end of the table. Hoshiko's silver gaze moved over to the old woman. "What are your feelings towards Konoha?"

Hoshiko felt her eyes widen slightly as she shook her head, "I don't understand."

"You know of your clans involvement with the murders of hundreds of Konoha Shinobi in the recent war. We sentenced your entire clan to die for the safety of our village, I am asking you what you think about this," Koharu demanded.

"Koharu," Sandaime said her name warningly, "Hoshiko has already proven her loyalty to the village, I trust her as much as I trust all my Shinobi—"

"Forgive me, Sandaime-sama," Hoshiko interrupted the Hokage as she bowed her head in respect. "I would like to answer the question," she paused for a second, hoping that she wouldn't be scolded for cutting off the Hokage, but he simply nodded to her. She turned her attention back to the bitter old woman. "I spent the majority of my childhood dodging glares and attacks from the villagers and the children, I was ostracized for belonging to a clan that I have no bond with. I was born in a different place but I was raised here in Konoha. I understand the crimes that the Ginyoru clan committed were horrible and disastrous, but blaming a child who was almost four years old at the time is ridiculous. All I have ever wanted was to be acknowledge by the villagers as one of their own, my parents were shunned from everyone because of their ties to a clan that had turned their back on them years ago. When my father died I can remember people rejoicing at the fact that he was gone, they didn't have to worry about being ambushed from the inside; and yet I still remained. I still get treated like an outcast at times; I can feel the glares and the whispers behind my back, waiting for me to turn on the village. I love Konoha, and I will continue to love Konoha even if I am thrown out and left with nothing. Even if the villagers detest me and wish me dead I would still protect this village with everything I have in me. Does that answer your question?" Hoshiko tried not to glare at Koharu, but always being questioned about her loyalty always irked her, it was like everyone was indeed waiting for her to turn on them.

"She would do well in the Foundation," Danzo mused to the others as Hoshiko felt her stomach drop. Something inside her was telling her that she certainly did _not_ want to be placed in the Foundation. Hoshiko watched as the Sandaime turned his head to stare at his old friend, the two held each other's gaze for a few seconds before the Sandaime sighed and turned his dark gaze back onto Hoshiko.

"You will be placed into the ANBU division, congratulations Hoshiko."

Hoshiko grinned as she bowed deeply, "Arigato-gozaimasu."

* * *

"Stop itching it!" Shisui scolded Hoshiko with a playful glare. The younger girl hissed at him and continued to scratch the bandage on her left shoulder. Shisui rolled his eyes as the two walked down the familiar street to the Uchiha mansion.

"Who would've thought that the little brat from so long ago would now be in ANBU?" Shisui said condescendingly to Hoshiko as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who would've thought that the kid who used to spy on me would still be alive?" Hoshiko bit back at him as the older boy laughed boisterously. They turned the corner on the street as Shisui's loud laugh drew the attention of some of the Uchiha; Hoshiko ducked her head away, uncomfortable under their piercing stares at her.

"Whatever did your Okaa-san say when you came home with a tattoo?" Shisui asked her as he settled down from laughing.

"She's my Okaa-san, so naturally she scolded me; can't help it though," Hoshiko said with a cheeky smile. She was remembering her Okaa-san's shrill voice when she had returned from the ANBU HQ.

* * *

" _A_ tattoo! _Hoshiko! You're only fourteen!"_

" _Okaa-san…" Hoshiko whined to her mother, "all the ANBU members have one, even Itachi has one, and he got his when he was eleven!"_

" _That doesn't mean that you should get one too! If Itachi-kun jumped off the stone faces and plunged to his death would you follow too?"_

" _Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic, Okaa-san?" Hoshiko asked blankly. There was a silence where both women glared at each other, before finally Hiroka sighed and ran a hand through her hair._

" _I guess I just have to accept that my little baby is growing up."_

" _Okaa-san…"_

* * *

"Ne, Shisui?" Hoshiko asked as they were fast approaching the mansion. Shisui inclined his head down to her. "Weren't you in ANBU?" Hoshiko asked as Shisui grinned and jabbed his thumb to his chest.

"I was! Best of the best," he said with a cheeky grin as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

"Why'd you leave?" She asked him thoughtfully.

Hoshiko missed the way that Shisui's smile dropped, or the way that his eyes quickly darted to the Uchiha crest that was hanging outside a shop stall.

"The Police Force needed me, it's a clan thing."

"Oh," Hoshiko muttered sadly. The way Shisui had said that was obvious, it was something that Hoshiko would never understand, seeing as she didn't have a clan anymore.

"Uh-uh-I didn't!—What I mean—"

"I get it, don't worry," Hoshiko giggled at Shisui's stuttering and flustered face as he had realized what he had said to her unknowingly. Shisui sighed and wiped his forehead as they approached the Uchiha mansion.

Sasuke greeted them outside; he was sitting on the step leading into the house as he perked up when he saw Shisui.

"Shisui-san!" He called out to him. Sasuke saw the figure of Hoshiko grinning at him as he felt his cheeks redden. It was the first time seeing Hoshiko since he had left her the flowers at her bedside a few days ago.

"Sasuke-chan!" Hoshiko called mockingly as she hurried up to him and spun him around.

"I'm going to be sick!" Sasuke cried, holding a hand to his mouth as Hoshiko placed him on the ground and patted his head forcefully.

"I never did thank you for my flowers, that was very nice of you," Hoshiko said as she pinched his cheek gently. Sasuke's face darkened to the shade of the Sharingan as he looked away from Hoshiko; he could hear the quiet laughter from Shisui to his left.

"Okaa-san said that I should do it," Sasuke muttered bashfully as Shisui and Hoshiko shared a glance and both giggled. Sasuke knew that they both didn't believe him as he pointed an accusing finger at the two teens. "As if I would ever actually bring you flowers! You're so annoying!" He defended as Hoshiko smirked at him and bent down to his eye level. Sasuke jumped back, his dark eyes wide as he feared at what Hoshiko would do to him.

Her silver eyes were shining with mirth as her mouth pulled up into a smile. She reached out her hand to hold Sasuke's cheek as she quickly pressed a chaste kiss to his other cheek.

"Arigato, Sasuke," she said to him as she pulled away and watched the child's face darken once again. The little Uchiha was stunned speechless.

"Hey, Itachi," Shisui said casually as Hoshiko looked over Sasuke's shoulder to see Itachi standing in the doorway. A ghost of a smile was on his stoic face as his onyx gaze went from Sasuke to Hoshiko and then to Shisui, what a sight it had been for him to walk out on. He had arrived just in time to see Hoshiko press a kiss to his little brother's cheek, which was now the shade of a tomato. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Hoshiko was a girl seeing how she rarely acted like one, and it wasn't like Hoshiko didn't look like a girl, because she did, if it wasn't for her eyes she would easily pass for an Uchiha; the thick black hair, strong jawline and straight nose were all traits for Uchiha.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke cried as he hurried over to him. Itachi looked down at his little brother, obviously still reeling from the kiss he had received from Hoshiko as he tugged on his arm. "You're going out with them aren't you, please can I come?" Sasuke begged his older brother as Itachi's gaze softened.

Hoshiko moved to stand beside Shisui as the older boy chuckled at her, causing her to furrow her brows at him.

"What's so funny?" She asked him as Shisui clapped her on the shoulder.

"I can see a sibling rivalry forming in the not too distant future."

Hoshiko, confused, looked to the two brothers and then back to her cryptic friend, "What do you mean?"

Shisui laughed, "If you can't see it, then I'm not going to say anything."

"See what?" Hoshiko asked him, annoyed at his words and that he wouldn't give her a straight answer for once.

* * *

"Sorry Sasuke, maybe next time," Itachi poked Sasuke on his little forehead as the young Uchiha flinched back and frowned up at his elder brother.

Hoshiko turned her gaze to the brothers as she saw the forehead poke display. Her mouth parted slightly in curiosity as she slowly raised her own hand to feel her forehead where Itachi had poked her in the exact same place yesterday. Itachi removed his fingers from Sasuke's forehead as he turned to look at his two friends; he furrowed his brows when he saw Hoshiko holding her forehead in confusion. She noticed him staring and quickly withdrew her hand and averted her gaze to anything but him. Shisui waved goodbye to Sasuke who was pouting by the front door.

"Ja ne, Sasuke!" Shisui called as the three of them walked away; Shisui in the middle of the two ANBU agents.

"To Ichiraku's it is!" Shisui called in glee as Hoshiko and Itachi groaned in unison. Hoshiko groaned because it was always what they ate when her and Shisui go out. Itachi groaned because he didn't like ramen and preferred Dango.

"I thought this was my celebration?" Hoshiko asked him as Shisui slung his arm around her shoulder.

"It is, Hoshiko-chan, which is why Itachi is paying!" Shisui said as Itachi frowned over at his cousin.

"What? When did that happen?" Itachi glared as Shisui chuckled.

"Since you never pay," he said with a pointed finger.

"That's you, Shisui," Hoshiko deadpanned as Shisui dodged an elbow to his ear from the girl at his right. Shisui chuckled.

"Come now, I paid for the last time," Shisui defended as Hoshiko crossed her arms.

"No, I did," she retorted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She hissed at him angrily as Shisui held a finger to his chin and looked up thoughtfully.

"Huh, well in any case, it's Itachi's turn to pay."

"You're such a _baka_ ," Hoshiko muttered to herself as she shook her head.

"If I am paying then by rights shouldn't I choose where we eat?" Itachi asked as Shisui had a look of dread come over his face.

"What a great idea, Itachi!" Hoshiko agreed as she clapped her hands together.

"Tofu it is." Itachi declared to the two of them. Itachi failed to notice how Hoshiko and Shisui both stalled and froze to the ground, their faces both turning pale at the mention of the horrid food.

"Shisui…"

"Yeah…"

"This is all your fault."

"…I know."

* * *

 **Thanks for your feeback for the last chapter! Again sorry it has taken me so long to get another chapter out here, I'll try not to be too long next time, let me know what you thought of this chapter and them little cute moments in it!**


	9. An Unwanted Offer

**Hi everyone! Yep I know I took forever to get another chapter out, I know it's a big gap between chapters but my other stories do come first, but I don't think I could ever loose interest in this story as it's becoming my favorite to write seeing as I wrote this whole thing in a few hours!**

 **Thank you to everyone whose alerted this story and left lovely reviews! I'm hoping that you'll be happy with some HoshikoxItachi fluff in this one to make up for the massive gap between chapters! Also I'm not sure how many chapter's I'll have before the uhh-you know...thing but it might be another 5 or so, after this one things in the plot will start to catch up and I'll be getting the ball rolling into canon events.**

* * *

 _An Unwanted Offer_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

"All I'm saying is, maybe you should lay off on the Sharingan use once in a while," Hoshiko argued with the stoic Uchiha in front of her as Itachi rolled his dark eyes and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. The girl before him was sporting a red face from working out and a big purple bruise appearing on her arm from a rather powerful kick Itachi had given her a few minutes ago.

"You only say that because you can't beat me in a spar," Itachi retorted with a pointed look as Hoshiko sighed and placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"I would if you stopped using it! Stop cheating for once."

"It's not cheating."

"It is so and you know it," Hoshiko stuck her tongue out at him childishly as Itachi sighed and pushed himself up onto his feet. Hoshiko was silent as she watched the taller boy walk closer to her as she leaned back, suspicious of him as he held out his hand and with a sharp _flick_ to her forehead she yelped and stumbled back, wincing.

"'Till next time, then," he muttered under his breath as he leapt up into the trees. Hoshiko spun around on her heel, one hand holding her forehead and the other curled up in a fist.

" _Chotto matte!_ Itachi! Get back here!"

It was no use; she could feel his chakra signature becoming fainter by the second as he leapt away from the training ground. She fell back on the heels of her feet as a soft smile played on her features as she slowly reached her hand up to her forehead and touched the area that he had flicked. Her cheeks tinged red faintly.

* * *

It had been just over a week since Hoshiko had been promoted to ANBU. She hadn't been assigned any mission as of yet, she had been spending most of her time at the headquarters learning the routines and sparring with her fellow members. Itachi had been assigned one mission in the week, which he had returned from the previous day. When Hoshiko had realized he was back she had demanded that he spar with her, now that she was back to full health from her Kekkei Genkai being released. He had relented, reluctantly and now she found herself walking through the familiar streets of Konoha's market district.

Her fully healed tattoo was hidden behind the long sleeve of her black shirt, even though no one could see it; Hoshiko had a feeling that everyone was staring at her shoulder, at the exact place it was, but that was ridiculous anyway.

Her enclosed foot kicked a rock a few feet ahead of her as she inclined her head to the left when she heard someone calling her name loudly.

"Hoshiko!"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Oi! Hoshiko, _matte!_ "

It was Shisui. The older Uchiha came to a stop next to her, he was seemingly out of breath as he hunched over on his kneecaps.

"Have—you—heard?" he gasped as Hoshiko frowned down at him.

"Heard what?" She asked him, turning to face him fully as Shisui wiped his forehead from the sweat that had accumulated.

"Kakashi—senpai—is—awake!"

Those four words sent a chill down Hoshiko's spine, her silver eyes widened in surprise as she angled her body to face the direction of the hospital.

"He's apparently ok, he woke up this morning and—Oi!"

"Sorry, Shisui! I'll see you later!" Hoshiko called over her shoulder, waving her hand at him as she took off at a sprint towards the hospital.

Hoshiko arrived at the hospital in record time, she didn't bother going through the front doors like a normal person, instead she sensed out his chakra signature; he was still in the same room as before as she forced chakra into her feet as she scaled up the side of the building and wrenched open the window with enough force to throw an Akimichi clan member.

"Kakashi-senpai!" Hoshiko cried out as she leapt into the room. In her hurry, her foot got caught on the windowsill as she spluttered and face planted the floor painfully, hitting her chin and nose on the cold granite flooring, " _Itai…_ ".

There was a deep chuckle as Hoshiko pushed herself up onto her knees and wiped the blood that had trickled out of her nose on the back of her hand as she gazed up at Kakashi who was sitting upright in his bed. Her senpai had donned his mask shirt once again, his face looked full and his eye crinkled in laughter at her display. Hoshiko felt her face flush a deep red in embarrassment on barging into his room unannounced and also making a fool of herself in front of him; she was now an ANBU agent, a stupid windowsill shouldn't be a problem for her.

" _Gomen_ , I shouldn't have came in like that," Hoshiko said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head as Kakashi raised his hand and waved her off.

"It's fine, I was wondering when you would come see me," he mused, tapping a finger to his masked chin as Hoshiko's eyes widened. Kakashi remembered everything. Her face flared up as she placed her palms on the cold tiled floor and bowed respectfully, her forehead was almost touching the ground.

Kakashi stared at the teenager as she continued to show him her utmost respect.

"Kakashi-senpai, I'm so sorry for hurting you!" She practically shouted at him, her voice muffled by the close proximity to the tiles. "I will do anything you ask of me to make up for what I have done," she finished off. She waited for a reply. She expected him to send her away, to blame her for almost killing him, to tell her that he never wanted to see her again, that she was a monster; she waited for anything…but it never came.

Instead, she jumped when she felt a tender hand on her shoulder. Her head cut up, her silver eyes seeking out his dark obsidian eye as she witnessed Kakashi crouching over her. She had been so focused on listening out for his words that she hadn't even heard him leave the bed.

"Hoshiko-chan," his voice was gentle, she continued to stare at him, "You didn't mean to hurt me, did you?" He asked her.

His question sent a shock of remorse through her, as she shook her head wildly, "of course not! I would never dream of hurting anyone," she spluttered out.

As he looked down at her, she saw his eye crinkle up into a smile, "Then you have nothing to apologise for."

"But—Kakashi-senpai!"

" _Yamenasai_ , Hoshiko. I don't blame you for what happened," Kakashi said sympathetically as he extended his hand down to her. The young girl followed it with her silvery eyes as she hesitantly grasped it as he helped pull her up so that she was now standing on her own two feet. "You shouldn't blame yourself either."

Hoshiko smiled up at him, she felt wetness at the corner of her eyes, she had been so worried that when Kakashi woke up he would want nothing to do with her; she hadn't expected him to completely forgive her. She held back her tears with sheer force of will, she wasn't a crying person, and she didn't plan on starting anytime soon; so instead she reached out and hugged Kakashi around the torso. It was bold and highly unlike her personality to hug people, but she was _so relieved_ that Kakashi didn't hate her that it just felt right.

"Arigato, Kakashi-senpai," she whispered into his shirt.

Kakashi's one eye widened in surprise as he chuckled and with one arm hooked it around her shoulder and embraced her. Hoshiko felt her cheeks flush from the contact, as she quickly pulled away and shuffled over to the other side of the bed. A cheeky grin blossomed across her tinted cheeks.

"Bet'cha didn't expect me to use Raikiri in my test, did you?" She said with a wink as Kakashi rolled his eye and walked back to his bed and sat down gently.

"A pleasant surprise," he muttered as Hoshiko took a seat in the empty chair as Kakashi relaxed back onto the bed. "How did you manage to accomplish it?" He asked her. Hoshiko clasped her hands together and placed them behind her head as she slouched back in the chair.

"I'm a quick learner, senpai. When you showed me it I had my chakra senses activated, I was able to see how you manipulated your chakra coils and nature release to create it. It took a while, and it's still not perfect…but I managed to do it!" She said excitedly as Kakashi shook his head in laughter at her. She was indeed, a very quick learner.

"How do you bypass the tunnel vision? Without the Sharingan to aid you it's near impossible to hit a target," Kakashi asked her curiously as Hoshiko's grin widened.

"With my chakra senses," she stated proudly. "I'm able to pinpoint the location of my targets and use that. It's a bit— _ugh_ —at the moment as I haven't used it a lot, and when there's a few targets they all kind of muddle together and it's a really big power drain, but I have faith that I'll be just as good as you one day, senpai," she said with a cheeky wink as Kakashi stared at her in amazement. He felt like he was back in the exam with her, when she had demonstrated it for the first time, he had been stunned speechless back then also. It was like she had just told him how to cook his favorite dish a ramen, not a jutsu that he had barely been able to create.

"Senpai?" Hoshiko's voice jerked him out of his thoughts, his obsidian eye cut to her as he saw her gradually leaned forwards in the chair, she had called his name once already, and when he hadn't responded she had thought he was still not entirely well from the effects of her Mizukiri.

"Ah, _gomen_ , I was just thinking that I need to increase my training if I don't want you to catch up to me," he snickered as Hoshiko tried to force back her smile but failed. Kakashi realized that she had been trying to ask him a question when he had been spaced out; he rubbed his forehead and smirked. "What did you ask?"

Hoshiko fidgeted with her fingers that now lay in her lap as she bit down on her bottom lip, it was obvious that she was nervous about something, Hoshiko never acted this way, she was always confident and sure of herself; it made Kakashi worry slightly and what could be plaguing her mind if it had her this anxious.

"Kakashi-senpai…can I ask you—a personal question?" She asked timidly, her voice barely above a whisper as Kakashi furrowed his brows. It was unlike Hoshiko to pry into people's lives, she always had a habit of keeping things about her self private and hated involving herself in other people's business.

"Of course," Kakashi said instantly, he wanted to know what she wanted, if the question was causing her to act like this then it must be important to her.

Hoshiko took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose slowly, her nerves were sky high as she fumbled over her words trying to think of the perfect way to ask. She had never been more nervous in her life then she was right now, not even for her ANBU exam had she been this scared.

"How did you get your Sharingan?"

"My Sharingan?" Kakashi repeated, making sure he had heard her right. She wasn't making eye contact and Hoshiko felt very rude asking him a question like that. Her head nodded once as her silver gaze slowly rose up until their gazes met. She was expecting him to be very guarded and retort that he didn't want to disclose the information; but this was a question that had been burning a hole through her head for the past week now.

Since having the strange dream of Kakashi with the Uchiha boy called Obito, she had been plagued with questions as to why she would dream of him. The kind Uchiha nurse had told her that Obito had given Kakashi the Sharingan when he had died, Hoshiko needed to know how, she needed to make sure that her dream had really been that—a dream.

Hoshiko shook her head, she couldn't ask him such a question! It was such a private matter that should be kept between Kakashi and the boy.

"Ah, _gomen,_ Kakashi-senpai, I shouldn't have asked such a—" she rose from the chair, keeping her eyes downcast as she turned to leave. She halted when she felt a hand clamp around her thin wrist tightly. A small gasp left her lips as her eyes cut back to his. He motioned for her to sit back in the chair as he slowly released her arm, when he last finger left her skin Hoshiko sunk back into the chair and folded her hands in her lap.

This was it; her burning question was going to be answered.

"It was given to me by my best friend," he stated. Hoshiko had known this already, the nurse had told her as much; but Hoshiko needed to know _how_. "He died on a mission when we were thirteen. I was recently promoted to Jounin and he a Chuunin. We came under attack by Iwa Shinobi and he was mortally injured, his last gift to me was this," Kakashi said as his right eye opened slowly. Hoshiko stared at she watched the crimson iris swirl. She had seen the Sharingan many times in her life, one of the perks of having Itachi and Shisui as her friends, but this one was different.

Hoshiko could see the despair in his crimson gaze, there was a great sadness attacked to his hidden gift.

Kakashi winced suddenly as he leaned forwards, his Sharingan eye clamping shut as he pressed the palm of his hand to his eye socket.

"Kakashi-senpai!" Hoshiko said worriedly as she jumped out of her chair and gripped his shoulder.

"Daijōbu desu," he waved her off as she sighed deeply and leaned back on the bed, his head resting against the pillow. "As I am not a full-blooded Uchiha, I cannot turn the Sharingan on and off at will, so every time I open this eye the chakra is continuously drained from me. It seems that my body does not want me using any chakra at the moment," he finished on a light chuckle, hoping to ease Hoshiko's worry from the look she was giving him at the moment.

The young girl was giving him a sour look as she sat back down in her chair.

"Kakashi-senpai, how did Obito die?"

Kakashi felt the guilt well up in his chest as he angled his head over to her, this time she met his gaze as Kakashi sighed.

"He was crushed by a boulder, he saved my life."

Hoshiko felt her insides turn to ice. Her breath got caught in her throat as her eyes widened in fear. She couldn't believe it, it had all been real; she had seen this exact moment in her dream, but why?

Why did she see the past?

An event that she should have no memory or even inkling about, this moment happened before she had even came to Konoha with her parents.

She had hoped that what she had seen had been a lie that her wild imagination had thought up, but the truth was staring at her right in her face.

Kakashi could see the emotions passing over her face as he revealed how Obito died, he wondered why she was so insistent on this event in his life, she had wanted to know about the Sharingan, but why?

It must be something major, considering her reaction just now.

" _Arigato_ , Kakashi-senpai," Hoshiko's voice brought him out of his thoughts as he saw her standing from the chair, " _Arigato_ for telling me this, I need to go though," she said hastily as she spun on her heel and was out of the door before Kakashi could call her back to him.

The weather had changed drastically in the short time that Hoshiko had been in the hospital with Kakashi, the sky had turned an ugly grey with the clouds taunting them with a downpour of rain. The wind lashed at Hoshiko's exposed skin as she ran through the empty streets; many of the Konoha residents had taken shelter in their homes or shops with the overcast sky looming overhead.

Hoshiko's mind was spinning rapidly, her thoughts were all jumbled and meshing together, she couldn't create one coherent thought, all that was running though her mind was the fact that her Mizukiri had something to do with her new power.

It was obvious to her now, the memory belonged to Kakashi, she had used her Mizukiri against Kakashi and now she knew of an event that only a select handful should know.

It terrified her.

She ran for a long time, not knowing where to go, but wanting to be alone with her thoughts, she needed to wrap her head around the fact that she could take people's memories from them for herself.

Her feet led her to the cemetery. As she arrived she felt the cold splatter of rain on her hands and face as it began to sprinkle the ground. She hadn't a clue why her feet had brought her here, maybe subconsciously she needed to talk to her father, she used to do it everyday when he died, she would sit for hours, telling him about her day and all the new things she had accomplished in her short years.

She hadn't been here in a long time, she felt the guilt well up in her chest as she sighed and tilted her head back to stare up at the grey clouds. Rain fell softly against her face as she spotted small rays of sunshine trying to peek through the clouds; hopefully the rain wouldn't last long.

"What a coincidence to run into you here," a voice said. His tone was hoarse and grainy as Hoshiko looked down, finding the owner of the voice a few feet away from her. She felt her whole body lock up as she recognized the older man in front of her to be Danzo. His beady brow eye caught her gaze as her hands began to shake by her side.

Hoshiko hadn't even sensed the man anywhere near her when she had arrived to the cemetery, that unnerved her more then the cold, icy stare he always seemed to have. Even though every fiber of her being was telling Hoshiko to turn the other way and run as fast as she could, she stood her ground; Danzo wasn't just anyone, he was a village elder and a highly respected authority.

"Danzo-sama," she regarded with a curt nod. Danzo used his cane and walked slowly towards her. Hoshiko's heart thumped loudly every time his cane touched the ground.

"I heard that Hatake Kakashi has awoken from his coma, I'm sure you're very relieved at this?" He suggested to her, making it out to be like Hoshiko hadn't wanted him to wake up at all. She kept the offensive retort hidden as she plastered on a smile and nodded again.

"Yes, I went to see him. He seems to be a lot better."

"That's very good news," Danzo mused, the tone he used made Hoshiko think that he didn't meant what he said at all.

Hoshiko didn't find any, if all conversations uncomfortable, she was a person who could talk about anything with anyone and not get embarrassed or shy, she tried to be pleasant at all time with strangers, she knew what it was like to be looked down upon and scorned so she tried her best to be the opposite of that. As of right now, all she wanted to do was run, run very fast and far away from this man.

Even when she had been in a room full of other people she couldn't face this man, she didn't know what it was, his chakra, to her, felt dark and sinister. His beady eye was cold and distant. The way he held himself was confident and cunning. The one person who she never wanted to be alone with was standing right in front of her.

"Excuse me, Danzo-sama, I forgot I need to go and meet my Okaa-san," Hoshiko gave him a respectful bow as she turned on her heel and strode to the exit of the cemetery.

His cold voice stopped her, "I was wondering, Hoshiko-san, if you collected anything from Hatake Kakashi?"

Hoshiko froze to the ground, his grainy voice echoing in her mind as she felt her heart pound against her chest.

 _He couldn't possibly…_

She turned her head slightly, so that she was looking at him from over her shoulder, her silver eyes widened as she saw the casual smirk on his withered, old face. She composed herself and replied, "I don't know what you mean, Danzo-sama."

He chuckled, glancing away from her for a second before fixing his stare back on her; he walked a few more steps to her.

"Of course," he said with a shake of his head. "My apologies for assuming. The documents that I have collected over the years state that wide variety of abilities that the users of the Mizukiri obtain. If you have no interest, then I will be on my way," Danzo said as he approached her. Hoshiko could feel her entire body trembling at his words.

Danzo knew; he knew everything about her! He even had writings, things that she had searched for countless days in the Konoha library about her clan. She wanted to speak out, to demand from him everything he knew about her; but she couldn't find her voice. She was frozen to the spot, his beady eye paralyzing her with fear, fear of the unknown.

One thing was for sure. Danzo was trying to use this information to gourd her into following him. Hoshiko was young, but not stupid; she could tell that Danzo expected her to follow him. She would not give in, every nerve in her body was telling her to ignore him, she would figure out her abilities on her own, she didn't need Danzo.

Once she felt his chakra leave the area and was at least two hundred meters away from her, she collapsed onto her knees, she had been holding her breath for so long that she had become dizzy and lightheaded. Her arms shook as she held a hand to her forehead.

Hoshiko was slowly walking through the market district, she was making her way back home after her fateful run in with Danzo in the cemetery, after he had left and she had managed to once again compose herself she had fled the scene, not wanting to stay a second longer then she had too.

* * *

The rain had stopped, and a few of the suns rays shone down from the sky, warming up the patches of wet on her clothes and skin. It was early afternoon; the academy day had finished as Hoshiko could hear the laughter of children in the village as she smiled to herself.

She had never been one of those children who had friends to play with after the class had ended, but as she got older she came to love the sound of laughing children. It reminded her of happiness, and peace. Peace was something that a lot of Shinobi had tried to protect and maintain, and Hoshiko wanted to be one of them, she never wanted to see another war in her lifetime. Even though she couldn't remember much from the Third Shinobi War, she could remember the haunting screams and the hot flames of fire. She would even dream about it sometimes, she was wake up in a fright, thinking that she was a young child once more, running from people who were trying to kill her and her family.

Hoshiko shook her head from her dark and dreary thoughts, she wanted to go home, to be out of the street and away from prying eyes, her encounter with Danzo had left her paranoid and anxious, she had a feeling that Danzo wanted her abilities for…something; and generally her intuition was right. She wouldn't put it passed him if she was being watched; a cold shiver ran up her spine at the mere thought of it.

"Oi! Grab that kid!"

Her attention was diverted to a shopkeeper down the street, it was a vendor she knew all too well, he was dark haired middle aged man that valued his fruits and vegetables in the highest regard, even if they were at times, disgusting and rotten. His stall was set up a few houses down from Hoshiko's home, and she was always greeted with his boisterous voice in the morning.

Her brows knitted together when she noticed two other shopkeepers surrounding a young boy as the fruit vendor yanked him up by the scruff of his bright orange jacket.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, stealing my stuff?" The dark haired man demanded from the young boy. Upon closer inspection, Hoshiko deduced that the child was around Sasuke's age, maybe younger. He had bright yellow, spikey hair. Three whisker like marks on each cheek and startling cerulean eyes.

"I wasn't stealing your shit, old man!" The child yelled back as he tried to pry the mans hands off his shirt.

Hoshiko smirked to herself at the fierce reply the boy gave the man; she was reminded of herself at that age.

"Oh yeah, then why did they tell me they saw you pinching my apples?" The older man leaned closer to his face as the young boy tried to push his face away.

"I hate fruit, why would I steal yours!" He retorted.

"If I catch you anywhere near my stall again, I'll beat you boy!" The vendor yelled as she shoved him away. The young child stumbled, hitting the floor as Hoshiko gasped in disgust. She was furious at the man, how could he treat a young child that way? She was thrown back into her own memories of being harassed and mistreated when she was a child, how the villagers hated her and her family.

With a stern glare she ran over to the four men who were calling the boy 'demon child', 'unwanted' and 'monster'.

"Hey!" She yelled at them, gaining their attention. The men turned their glares on her and the young child stared up at her with apprehension. "What do you think you're doing?" Hoshiko demanded off them as she glared up at them.

With her small height, she didn't pose much of a threat to them, but the glimmer of her forehead protector and the fire behind her icy glare was enough to have them looking around in fear.

"H-he was stealing," the man stuttered out. His two light haired companions nodded.

"I don't see anything in his hands," Hoshiko stated as she looked down at the child.

When her gaze met the boy's, she stalled for a second, he was gazing up at her in awe, she didn't know why; but what shocked her was the fact that behind his brilliant cerulean eyes, all she could see was sadness.

"T-they saw him!" The dark haired vendor pointed to the other two as they snapped their heads to the side, shaking profusely. Hoshiko turned her glare onto them.

"Did you see him steal?"

"Uhh—"

"Well, it was hard to see—"

"The thing is—"

"Enough!" Hoshiko growled at them. "He's done nothing wrong, and he certainly doesn't deserve your disgusting insults." She motioned to the boy to head out as he gave her a wide grin and stuck his tongue out at the three men. Hoshiko glared at the men for extra measure as the three of them scurried back to their stalls with their tails between their legs.

She watched the little boy run to the end of the street, as he reached the corner, he turned and with a cheeky grin and a twinkle in his eye, he pulled out a rosy apple from his pocket and bit into it deeply. Hoshiko felt her mouth drop as she heard his laughter echo around her before he dashed away.

"That little shit!"

* * *

"Hoshiko?"

The young teenager grunted in response.

"Hoshiko," The same voice called out to her again, although all he received was another grunt. There was an exasperated sigh, followed by the sound of footsteps closing in on her spread-eagled position on the grassy ground.

"Can you answer me like a normal person?"

She cracked one eye open, her silvery gaze seeking out the owner of the voice as she saw Itachi hovering above her, he was dressed in his full ANBU gear.

"Can't talk, training."

"You're lying on the ground," Itachi stated.

"Exactly," Hoshiko replied with a grin as she shut her eyes once more.

"I don't understand you sometimes," Itachi sighed as Hoshiko chuckled.

"Not many do, Itachi-baka," she used her nickname for him as the Uchiha ground his teeth together and rolled his eyes slightly.

Hoshiko listened to his footsteps walk away from her as she let out a sigh of relief, five more minutes and then she would resume her training.

She was getting ready to stand up when suddenly water was tipped onto her.

" _Argh_! What the hell?" Hoshiko shrieked as the icy water drenched her entire body. She shot up, glaring at a bored Itachi who held her water canteen in his hand. "Are you insane?"

Itachi remained impassive as he tossed her the canteen; she caught it with one hand while continuing her glaring.

"Maybe next time you'll answer me like the ANBU you ought to be," he stated with a pointed look as Hoshiko launched the canteen at his head.

The speed was impressive, Itachi thought, and the power behind her thrust was violent that had he not dodged it with his impeccable speed no doubt he'd be sporting a fine black eye.

"Maybe next time I'll bite your ankles off and leave you hobbling around on stubs!" Hoshiko fired back with bitterness. She had begun to wring out her long dark tresses with her hands as she and Itachi locked gazes. There was a few seconds before both teens smirked at each other as Hoshiko tossed her hair over her shoulder and began flapping her shirt on her chest, hoping to dry it quickly.

* * *

Itachi, ever the gentlemen, retrieved her canteen and set it back down on the log that it had been on previously. As he turned around he felt his cheeks flush a deep red.

Hoshiko, oblivious as always to the male species and was the least discreet person in the entire village, had removed her shirt and was wringing it out.

Itachi immediately turned away, giving her the privacy that she needed. He cursed Hoshiko to the moon and back, she had always been forward, and never cared about how she made others uncomfortable in situations, right now was a perfect example, although Itachi could say that he had never been placed in a situation like this before, he desperately wished to leave and not look back, but that would cause Hoshiko to tease him about being uncomfortable around her and that she had the ability to make him embarrassed. Instead he stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, with a perpetual frown on his face as he desperately tried to get the image of her out of his head.

It had only been for a second, but in that second, he had seen more then enough. She had been facing slightly away from him, her chest was bound like how all the other Kunoichi did it, with bandages wrapped tightly around her…assets—and stopping a couple of inches above her belly button. Her skin was somehow glowing in the sunlight, Itachi knew that it was entirely improbably for someone to 'glow' and put it down to the water from her shirt on her skin to create the illusion of glowing skin. She wasn't as sun kissed as his own skin was, but her body had a natural olive tone to it, he had seen how her arm muscles tensed as she wrung out the shirt and he had even caught a glimpse of the ANBU tattoo that decorated her upper shoulder.

Itachi was mature for his fourteen short years, but he was also young, and he had never imagined that underneath the dark and loose clothing that Hoshiko wore that she would look like _that_. Of course he knew that Hoshiko was attractive, he'd be stupid if he didn't admit it, he just never thought that he could ever find himself attracted to _her_. She was a pain in the ass, particularly his ass. She was loud, rude at times and insolent at the worst possible moments. She had been his self-declared rival since they were five years old and she insulted him at every chance she got, her favorite always being 'Itachi-baka'. She drove him crazy and tested his patience on a daily basis.

And through all that, she was also one of his closest friends.

He didn't have many friends, he could count them on one hand, and surprisingly Hoshiko was the one, who at times understood him the most. Of course there was Shisui who he had known longer then Hoshiko, and shared a deep bond with the older boy with his clan and their ploys; but Hoshiko always had this uncanny ability to know when he was bothered by something, something Shisui lacked in, as he was a blockhead most times.

His reaction confused him the most, he had seen women getting changed before, an example would be when the female ANBU members would change clothes in the change room or when on missions, he would always politely avert his gaze or try to leave the room when possible, but none of those times caused him to blush like a small child.

 _It's just Hoshiko_ , Itachi repeated in his mind.

* * *

Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder as she flung her shirt in the wind. Her devilish smirk crept over her face as she noticed Itachi looking the other way, she could tell his shoulders were painfully tense, his fists were balled up at his sides and if she paid close attention, she swore that his cheek was dusted with pink.

"Oi, Itachi!" She called out to him as she saw his head twitch in reply. "You should get a good look before I get dressed, with your shitty attitude I doubt you'll ever see a woman's body again!" She chuckled to herself as she waited for the Uchiha's reaction.

"I would if there was anything for me to look at," came his smooth reply.

The next sound heard was the sound of Hoshiko's still damp shirt making contact with the side of Itachi's face.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So a lot happened in this chapter. Itachi gave her another forehead poke (Hoshiko still doesn't understand entirely what it means yet, but we do!). Kakashi woke up and remembers everything that happened to him. Hoshiko also had an encounter with Danzo whose trying to lure her to him with the prospect of learning about her abilities, will hse go to him? Who knows!**

 **And we also had a small encounter with a certain blonde haired boy, I couldn't resist adding him into the story, let me know if you'd like to see more or Naruto and Hoshiko, I have left the opportunity there seeing as Hoshiko was thinking about how much she can relate to him!**

 **And then the ending! Oh man, these two are just so cute, I always imagined Itachi being a very shy person when it comes to nudity of the sort, his mother raised him right. Those two are literally polar opposites with Hoshiko teasing him xD Hopefully I kept Itachi in character as much as I could, be if it isn't obvious he acts a lot different around Hoshiko then when he's with his family or Shisui, this will become apparent in later chapters!**

 **Let me know what you guys thought! I'd love to hear about it, and again thank you to everyone who reviewed last time and all those readers who alerted the story!**


	10. Irrelevance

**Hi guys! So yes you didn't have to wait long for this chapter woohoo!**

 **In reply to** _anasha_ **I don't have a set update day but I will try to get one out every 2 weeks or something, sometimes they might be earlier and sometimes they might be later, I have a lot of free time at the moment so most of it is being spent writing! This chapter was a bit harder to get out as there's a few deep and meaningful parts in it but I managed, not super happy with the way it turned out but happy with it to post! Thank you to the other guys who reviewed I appreciate it so much to know what you guys think of my story, and don't be shy to leave me a review, it helps me get chapters out quicker knowing that people are waiting for me!**

 **Enjoy guys!**

* * *

 _Irrelevance_

 **Onyx and Ivory** _  
_

* * *

"Here's your mission scroll."

Itachi took the scroll from his superiors' hands as he nodded respectfully. Hoshiko's gaze cut over to the scroll in his hands; trying to see if there was anything exciting on the outside for her to see.

The two teens stood stoically in the ANBU headquarters office, facing their hawk-masked superior. He was a tall man, wearing a dark cloak and spikey black hair; the interesting thing about this man was that no one had ever seen his face. The only person who had ever seen his face was the Hokage, he never revealed his name or what he looked like to anyone; he could pass you on the street and you would be none the wiser. The name he went by was Taka, homage to his mask.

Itachi opened up the scroll and read over the content quickly, his dark eyes scanning over the parchment. Hoshiko was trying not to let her excitement through, she was finally getting her first ANBU mission, and it was with Itachi no less! She must have finally done something right in her life to be rewarded on going on a high-risk mission with her closest friend.

Itachi handed her the scroll with finesse as her silvery eyes read over the words. When she had finished, she looked up, staring into the pupil less eyes of her superior.

"You two have been chosen for your stealth abilities," Taka stated to the both of them.

"I understand," Itachi replied formally. Hoshiko inclined her head to look at him; he was so much different now then almost an hour ago when she had been teasing him at the training ground. He was poised, ready for battle; his eyes were set in hard determination as his fists were clenched at his side.

"You are to depart in the morning, I expect nothing but the best from you two," he said as Taka disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Once Hoshiko was certain that he was gone she let out a frustrated sigh and waved the scroll in the air, "What the hell do you call this?" She growled as Itachi turned to her. "A missing persons case? Come _on_! This is work for Chuunin's or Jounin, not us!"

"If you read the report, it states that the Hokage sent a Chuunin team to try and find the perpetrator but they came up with nothing," Itachi told her with an exasperated sigh. Hoshiko rolled her eyes and read over the scroll again.

"So, a bunch of people have gone missing over the past few months and no one has been able to find anything about it? Why do we get stuck with the shit jobs?"

Itachi wanted to scold her on her current attitude, but that would cause more hassle for himself and after this afternoon, he really didn't need Hoshiko's whining voice in his ears anymore then necessary.

"Because the age of the missing people fit our description," he said with a sigh. "Did you even read the scroll?" He asked, his tone was more of a hiss now.

"I may have missed a few parts."

"A few?" Itachi asked with a brow raised.

Hoshiko felt her cheeks heat up as she glued her eyes to the parchment and read thoroughly this time.

 _As of today, fifteen children between the ages of ten and eighteen have been reported missing from the villages near the border. A team was sent out two weeks ago to investigate but no leads were found._

 _The only witness is a man living in the northern-most town, Hanabira._

 _Your team has two weeks to find the missing children and return them safely._

 _Sandaime Hokage._

"It's not much to go on," Hoshiko mused. "And two weeks? What does he mean by that?" She asked, glancing over at the stoic Uchiha as he made his way to the door at the back of the large office. Hoshiko scurried over to him, folding the scroll back up and tucking it into her pocket.

"He probably means that after this time, any hope of finding the children will be gone."

Hoshiko's jesting and irritated mood disappeared when the words left the Uchiha's mouth; her eyes were drawn to the extra photo's that had been with the scroll. There were fifteen pictures, all of the children who were missing. They were all old family portraits that they must've taken and given to the Konoha Shinobi who had tried to find them and failed.

Hoshiko sifted through them all, putting each child's face to memory as she came to the last picture in the pile. Her heart lurched as she gazed into a young boys face; he looked strikingly similar to Sasuke with his dark eyes and hair. Hoshiko wondered if Itachi had seen this picture and that's why he was so guarded and tense right now. It dawned on her that as of right now, all the children who were missing were counting on Itachi and Hoshiko to find them and bring them home.

Itachi could sense the change in her attitude as he looked over his shoulder at her, she was staring down at a picture of a young boy, he could see the emotions of sorrow, guilt and determination run over her face as she met his intense stare.

"We'll find them," she said as the two left the office.

* * *

Once outside Hoshiko noticed that Itachi wasn't heading in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

"Where are you going?" She asked him, catching up with his long strides as Itachi looked down at her.

"I promised Sasuke that I would pick him up from the Academy and train with him before our mission tomorrow."

"Can I come?" Hoshiko asked bluntly. Itachi sighed.

"It's not like I could stop you," he muttered as Hoshiko beamed.

"Does that mean you're admitting that I'm stronger than you?" She asked gleefully. Itachi gave her a blank look.

"I mean even if I said no, you would still come anyway," he explained as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

"You like having me around, I can tell," she poked his shoulder as Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What makes you think that?" He asked her as Hoshiko chuckled, she folded her arms across her chest as she tilted her head back to look up at the clear, blue sky.

"Because I make you remember that you're still just a kid, like me."

Itachi didn't want to admit it out loud, but sometimes, just for a second; Hoshiko made him forget about the clan, about his responsibilities, about the village, about everything that made him who he is today. It was at times like this, through all of her senseless babble, her childish ways and jesting laughter that he realized that he was in fact a kid still, that he was human.

And then the moment was gone, and reality kicked him square in the face.

"You should be more focused, Hoshiko," he said to her. Her smile had disappeared and Itachi felt horrible at the fact that he had made that happen. "We are no longer children in the eyes of the village."

Hoshiko looked away from him, her silvery eyes downcast at her sandaled feet. Itachi had a point; she was going on her first ANBU mission tomorrow, something she had wanted ever since she was little. It was time for her to grow up and face the fact that she wasn't a child anymore.

"You're right," she said quietly. Hoshiko plastered on a smile as she laughed, "I just remembered I have to go home. _Ja ne_ , Itachi-baka," she said, turning on her heel and sprinting away; leaving before Itachi could ask her what was wrong.

* * *

" _Tadaima_ ," Hoshiko called out dully as she removed her sandals with the balls of her feet. She kicked them to the side where she spotted her mothers neatly tucked away. There was the patter of bare feet as Hiroka poked her head around the corner, a white plate gripped in her hand with a towel as she dried it over.

" _Okaeri_ , _"_ Hiroka said with a smile as Hoshiko took a seat at the knee high table. Hoshiko stared at her mothers back, her long brown hair tied up in a low ponytail that reminded her of Itachi's one, she huffed and looked away.

Hiroka, sensing her daughter's distress, glanced over her shoulder as she finished preparing the dinner for them both.

"What's the matter?" She asked with a kind tone as Hoshiko met her kind, brown gaze.

"It's nothing," Hoshiko muttered, looking away sheepishly as she suddenly stood and collected the cutlery for them to use. Hiroka didn't pry so instead she chose to change the subject.

"How did your meeting go?" She asked as Hoshiko set out the chopsticks.

"I have a mission tomorrow with Itachi," she stated, causing Hiroka to gasp in excitement.

"That's wonderful! Your first ANBU mission, we'll have to celebrate!" Hiroka said gleefully as she set out the plates.

Hoshiko shook her head, "Okaa-san, it's fine, don't make a big deal out of it," she asked her.

"I can't help it darling! You've wanted this for so long, ever since you were a small child all you ever talked about was becoming an ANBU." Hiroka gushed as Hoshiko knitted her brows together; she hated it when her mother did this. Hiroka started talking at the speed of light. "Your Otou-san would be so proud of you-our little baby is growing up-you're going to need to watch out for each other when you go-you are both still children and anything could happen to you. I'll have to pack a lunch for you, and make sure that all your clothes are ready…" Hoshiko's frown deepened, Itachi's words were coming back to her.

 _You should be more focused…_

 _We are no longer children in the eyes of the village…_

"—You'll have to be extra careful, I know that ANBU missions are very dangerous and I'll be worrying an awful lot about you—"

"Okaa-san, stop it! I'm not a child!" Hoshiko yelled, slamming her hands down on the table. The plates jumped an inch in the air as Hoshiko's narrowed silver gaze stared at Hiroka's. Hiroka's words died in her throat as hurt flashed across her gentle face.

As soon as the words left Hoshiko's mouth she regretted them, her anger instantly died away as she stared at her mother's hurt expression. She growled in her throat, annoyed that she had snapped like that, it was all Itachi's fault for telling her that earlier in the day. Hoshiko spun on her heel and marched to her room, wrenching open the door and slamming it shut behind her.

* * *

"I managed to delay for another two weeks at most, but after then, it'll be hard to stall even further," Itachi told Shisui as the two Uchiha stood on the cliff of the Naka waterfall. Shisui was silent beside him, lost in his own thoughts.

"It's something, at least," Shisui mused as Itachi turned his dark gaze to his best friend.

"I'll be gone for at least a week, you don't think they'll try anything…?" He asked him. Shisui shook his head slowly.

"No, they wouldn't with you gone, they need you, Itachi."

There was another silence between them; the only sound came from the waterfall as it roared before them.

"Itachi…" Shisui began slowly, "The elders have asked me to tail you from now on."

Itachi nodded, "We suspected that this might happen—"

"That's not all," Shisui interrupted him, the two teens locked gazes as Shisui looked grief stricken at what he was about to say. "Fugaku-san asked me about Hoshiko…and you."

"What?" Itachi gaped at him. Itachi's mind flashbacked to earlier in the day, when he and Hoshiko had been walking and talking together after leaving the headquarters. She had been babbling on like she normally did, her smile lighting up the area around herself.

"He asked if Hoshiko knew anything about the Coup."

"She doesn't!" Itachi exclaimed, his heart rate had increased as he steeled himself back into his normal composure.

"I know," Shisui calmed him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I told him as much. We have to be careful around her now, with everything going on…Hoshiko can't get involved."

There was another silence between them, this time it was filled with tension. Itachi was brooding, he knew that if Hoshiko ever got wind of what was going on behind the Uchiha's compound walls, she would try to stop it…and she would most likely be killed. She would try and stop it for him, and for Shisui and to some extent, Sasuke; she was that kind of person deep down. And now that Hoshiko was in ANBU, there was an even greater chance that the Hokage would assign her to spy on the Uchiha's, like he was currently doing so and a few other ANBU members.

Itachi thought back to the day when he had stopped his father from revealing information about the Coup when she had been perched outside of his window, she had been so close to finding out about him, he had forced her away from the compound, lying to her about his father's intentions for her own protection. But Hoshiko was not stupid, she knew that there was something wrong with the clan, she hadn't heard the important parts but she had heard some of what his father had said, she had yet to confront him about it which just made him believe that she didn't know what to make of it, yet.

And now his father was prying about her, it was no secret that he spent most of his time with her, it would only be natural for his father to be concerned, but if Fugaku suspected even the tiniest amount that Hoshiko knew something, she'd be killed, and he wouldn't let anyone die because of his ignorance.

"Shisui," Itachi said his friends name with hesitation. The older Uchiha steeled his gaze over to him. "When I return, there is something we must do."

Shisui could see the deep meaning behind his gaze as he nodded slowly, completely understanding.

" _Hai_."

* * *

Hoshiko sat on the roof of her home in the dewy pre-dawn light; mist covered the ground as the early morning sun shone through the overcast clouds. A chilly breeze caressed her exposed skin on her arms and face as she traced her fingers over the markings of her ANBU mask. She traced the four whiskers on the cheeks of the porcelain mask and ran her fingers over the defined nose and mouth. A heavy sigh passed her lips as she thought about last night.

She had apologized to her mother later in the night, blaming her nerves about her first mission on her outburst, her mother, ever understanding completely understood and had hugged her and wished her farewell.

She had barely slept that night, she had tossed and turned all night, thinking about her mission, the children that Itachi and herself had been tasked with finding. She hadn't even started her mission and yet something already didn't sit right in her stomach about it; she felt like there was something they were missing, or that they weren't picking up on, but she dismissed it as mission jitters.

Her thoughts dwelled on Danzo and what he had said to her a few days ago in the cemetery. The last time she had been on a mission she had unlocked her Kekkei Genkai and almost killed Kakashi. She wondered if it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go to Danzo, he obviously knew about her abilities, he had said as much, what harm could he do to her?

A large crow flying over her head interrupted her thoughts; she gazed up, her silver eyes reflecting the early morning sun, as they seemed to let off an ethereal glow as she followed it flying off over the village. It soared over the homes, flying up the great stone faces and soaring away. A kind smile decorated her face as she thought about what it would be like to be a bird, to fly high in the sky, to touch the clouds everyday and never return to the ground. When she died, she wanted to come back as a bird.

She felt his presence before he spoke, he was standing behind her, his chakra flow was calm and cool, like always.

"You're up early," he commented as Hoshiko smirked to herself and pushed on her knees so that she could stand up. As she stared over the village, the sun had finally peeked over the horizon.

"I couldn't sleep," she said, still not facing him. She was surprised at herself, normally when Itachi managed to piss her off with his overly-mature mannerisms she would hold a grudge for a couple days at least, but she felt no animosity towards him. Maybe it was because of the truth of his words this time. Hoshiko finally turned around to face her eternal rival. She studied his face, seeing the dark bruises under his eyes and the rumpled clothes on his back. Itachi never looked like that, he was always well rested and his clothes were always smart and neat, it was a shock for her to see him like this.

"Are you ok?" She asked him, concern lacing her voice as she shuffled closer to him.

"I'm fine," he replied firmly.

Hoshiko didn't believe him, and she wasn't really one to force someone to explain their woe's to her, even if she could tell there was something really wrong with Itachi, if he wanted to tell her, he would.

Her gaze travelled down his arm, resting on his porcelain mask that he held in his hand. The mask made her remember their mission as she felt her own mask in her hand. Raising it tentatively to her face she secured it to her forehead protector as she peered through the eyeholes, watching Itachi do the same to his weasel mask.

"Let's go," Itachi said to her as she nodded and the two of them dashed away.

They leapt swiftly through the trees, if one was standing below, they would've only heard the faintest of noises, a brief rustle of leaves and the quiet thud of their shoes hitting the thick bark. You wouldn't be able to pinpoint where they had come from or where they had disappeared to they were that fast.

Itachi was a meter behind Hoshiko; the young teen was leading their duo, her chakra senses extended around them, making sure that they had no pursuers or ambushers. Itachi was glad, as it gave him time to study her body language, she was tense, he could tell from the way her shoulders were drawn in together. Her fists were balled up at her sides as she landed on a branch and then pushed off, the power in her legs created an indent in the bark.

He couldn't tell what she was tense about, it may have been the mission, or what had happened the previous day between them, or the way he had brushed off her inquiring question a few hours before. She hadn't spoken a word to him since they left Konoha, it was strange for her not to prattle on to him like she did back home; Itachi realized that this was the first mission that they had ever partaken together and perhaps he had misjudged her.

* * *

" _It must be an urgent matter, for you to have asked for me at this time of night," The Sandaime mused as he puffed his wooden pipe. The old man turned slowly, seeing Itachi knelt on the wooden floor before him. The young teen looked exhausted and troubled, something that was becoming ever familiar to him from the weight of spying on his family clan._

" _Forgive me," Itachi said with a bowed head. "I felt the need to talk with you immediately."_

" _Is it about the Coup?" Hiruzen asked with concern. Itachi shook his head._

" _Not directly," he explained, causing the Sandaime to frown. The old man took a long draw from his pipe and exhaled, the smoke spiraling high into the air._

" _Go on."_

" _Uchiha Shisui has been ordered by the clan elders to tail me from now on. He will be feeding them false information," Itachi explained as the Sandaime nodded slowly._

" _There is more?" He guessed._

" _Hai. I have a request…" Itachi said hesitantly. At this the Sandaime inclined his head to the side; his interest peaked. "If possible, I would like Ginyoru Hoshiko to be left out of the Uchiha affairs."_

 _The Sandaime stared at the young boy; he could tell that something had happened. Itachi rarely made any requests, he had always been very complacent, for him to request something as dire as this, it was important._

 _Itachi could see that the Sandaime was confused at his plea; he cleared his throat, gaining his attention once again. "The clan suspects that she knows the truth. She doesn't, but to illuminate the prospect of innocent bloodshed she should be kept far away from them. I don't doubt that they would silence her if she did discover the truth."_

" _Hoshiko is an ANBU, and a skilled one at that, she is valuable for infiltration and spy work," the Sandaime argued. He could see where Itachi was coming from, but as he said, Hoshiko was a Shinobi of Konoha first and foremost. "It would be in our best interest to have her working with you to stop the Coup."_

" _Then an ultimatum," Itachi said firmly, his onyx eyes meeting the Sandaime's murky brown. "I will ensure that she never harms another person with her Kekkei Genkai again. I know it had been brought to the advisors attention that she is dangerous, if she found out about the Coup, I wouldn't doubt she would try everything to stop it."_

 _There was a tense silence between them both, the two Konoha Shinobi stared the other down, waiting for the other to back down. Itachi hadn't wanted to resort to this, but he saw it as the only way to make sure that Hoshiko wouldn't wind up dead. She would probably hate him if she ever found out, but Itachi was prepared to take that burden on his shoulders, he wouldn't let innocent blood be spilt._

" _Is that all?" The Sandaime asked him with his piercing gaze. Itachi nodded once. "Then I agree to your terms." There was a pause. "But if she should hurt another person, then she will be placed on the surveillance team stationed on the Uchiha watch. Good luck on your mission tomorrow."_

" _Thank you, Hokage-sama."_

* * *

"What do you know about Danzo?"

Itachi glanced up from sharpening his kunai, his onyx eyes cut to Hoshiko who was lying on her back on the grass; her arms folded behind her head. They still wore their ANBU masks so he couldn't see her expression but he could tell she probably had a furrowed brow.

They had made camp for the night a few hours ago, Itachi fetching dinner in the form of fish he caught from the nearby stream. Hoshiko had been impressed by his cooking ability, "Didn't know you were a cooking genius, it's to be expected I guess," she had said to him with a smirk as Itachi 'tsk'd' and rolled his eyes at her.

"You should be sleeping," Itachi, told her, avoiding the question.

He could _hear_ her eyes rolling.

"I can't sleep if you don't answer the question," she retorted.

"Then you'll be tired when I wake you up for your guard shift," he replied coolly. He heard her sigh in annoyance as she fell silent once more.

It had been a minute since she had spoken, and Itachi thought that maybe she had taken his advice and had actually gone to sleep. He realized that she had actually been planning her prodding once again when a small stone hit his mask.

 _Dink._

The stone plopped into the grass as Itachi glared at her through his small eyeholes. He heard her snort as she sat up.

"You're so grumpy with me lately," she remarked to him.

"I'm not grumpy," he snapped back, fueling her laughter even more, Hoshiko chuckled at him.

"Could've fooled me."

"Sleep, Hoshiko." He ordered to her. The girl sighed and lay back down on the grass.

"What did I do? Did I say something wrong? You've never been like this with me before," she muttered.

"Because I don't want you—"

Itachi paused, the words dying on his tongue as he stalled himself from what he was about to say. He had been about to say, _because I don't want you to get hurt._ He couldn't say that to her, he had almost though, he hadn't thought about what to say, it had just come naturally to him, and that's what made him all the more anxious.

She had asked him about Danzo, a man he knew as manipulative and cunning and always three steps ahead of the Hokage. Itachi wondered why she had asked about Danzo so suddenly, it had reached his ears that Danzo had asked for Hoshiko to be placed in The Foundation, maybe he had offered her a place again, Hoshiko couldn't be that stupid to accept though, could she?

And on the other hand, she wasn't sleeping, which would make her tired for their mission, and put them both at risk. It was true that he didn't want to see her get hurt because of this but he had to put his mission first and his friendship with Hoshiko second.

"Because what?" Hoshiko asked him, he could hear the inquiring tone behind her mask as her face angled to his. He studied her cat mask for a second before picking up his kunai and stone before starting to sharpen it again.

"Because I don't want you jeopardizing the mission with your irrelevant and nonsensical questions when you could be taking this mission seriously," his tone was like ice and if possible he felt the air around Hoshiko and him drop a few degrees.

Hoshiko's mouth parted in surprise at his words, she had never been spoken to like that from Itachi before. Even yesterday, when he had told her to stop acting like a child after their mission brief he had spoken with a kind tone, this one was harsh and uncaring. She felt an uncomfortable stab in her gut as tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, she couldn't wipe them away because of her mask and she wouldn't have anyway as Itachi would've realized that he made her cry. Instead she steeled her composure and brushed it off.

"Just because I asked a question doesn't mean that I don't take this mission seriously," she said with a snarl. She shook her head at him, the anger coursing through her veins at his words as Hoshiko rolled over so that her back was facing away from him. "You're such an asshole sometimes," she muttered quietly, but loud enough for the stoic Uchiha to hear her words.

* * *

The next few days passed in complete silence for the two teens, neither spoke to the other unless it was about the mission. Itachi took the lead for them both and was always a meter ahead of Hoshiko as she kept behind, her face was set in an almost permanent frown because of what transpired between them. She was mad at him for being so rude to her about a simple question, he had over reacted.

It was only on the third night, the day before they were to arrive in the village that Itachi broke the uncomfortable silence between them.

"Why did you want to know about Danzo?" He asked suddenly to Hoshiko.

Said girl had been eating the meager dinner that Itachi had brought along for their final night of camping. Her mask was removed for her to eat and rice stuck to the corner of her mouth as her silver eyes cut to his as he sat across from her. His own mask had been pulled to the side so that he could indulge in the bland food. Itachi looked away from her piercing gaze as he stared at the bush behind her head.

Hoshiko finished eating as she wiped her hands on her trousers and didn't bother lowering her mask back down, she was glad to finally have it off her face after the long day of traveling.

"Are you sure you want to answer that? I mean, it's an irrelevant and nonsensical question," she repeated his words from two days ago to him as Itachi inwardly flinched. After the words had left his mouth that night he regretted them, he had indeed been too harsh on her.

"Forgive me," he muttered quietly, barely above a whisper. Their eyes met once more as Itachi bowed his head slightly to her, "I shouldn't have said that."

Hoshiko sighed, a gentle smirk on her face, " _Usuratonkachi._ "

Itachi's eye twitched in annoyance as he narrowed his gaze at her. He let her insult slide as he spoke, "Are you going to answer my question?"

Hoshiko's eyebrow's rose as a sly look came over her face as she smacked her hands down on her knees as she leaned closer to him, "Oh ho! Look who's talking? If I remember correctly, you were the one who wouldn't answer mine! I'm not saying a damn thing until you answer mine first, _usuratonkachi._ "

"Stop calling me that," Itachi quipped.

"Call you what, _usuratonkachi_?" Hoshiko asked, her voice laced with sarcasm as Itachi rolled his eyes at her and 'tsk'd'.

"Fine," Itachi said in exasperation. "Danzo is a village elder—"

"Everyone knows that, _usuratonkachi_ ," Hoshiko interrupted in a bored voice. Itachi silence her with his onyx eyes bleeding crimson with the Sharingan as she giggled, reveling in the fact that she had annoyed him to the point of his Kekkei Genkai activating.

"He is a village elder who runs the division called The Foundation. A group of Shinobi that work underground protecting Konoha from the shadows."

"I _know_ all of that already, I was told before my exam about them. I want to know what his deal is! Why did he create them? What's so special about his Shinobi?"

Itachi furrowed his brows at her, she was pressing this subject an awful lot, it made him think that something had happened between them, or the worst possibility, Hoshiko wanted to _join_ them.

"I don't know why he created The Foundation, not many people do. I suspect only Danzo and the Hokage would know why. But the reason why his subordinates are so feared is because he trains them to become mindless and emotionless killers."

"What do you mean?" Hoshiko asked. She was completely transfixed on Itachi now.

"He raises them from children, forcing them to fight to the death when they come of age. He makes them kill off their emotions so they feel nothing and only do his will…"

Itachi could see the disgusted look in her silver eyes, this was news to her. Hoshiko was disgusted at the fact that Danzo would make children fight their friends, the people they had grown up with; and kill them with the sole intent of turning them into assassins. Hoshiko was all for protecting her village, but that seemed barbaric. It was like the Blood Mist Village.

"Hoshiko…" Itachi said her name slowly; his dark eyes met hers. "Has Danzo approached you?" He asked her. He saw the slight widening of her eyes, the nervousness behind them as she shook her head and stretched her arms up high.

"Of course not, I just wanted to know," she said with a fake smile that Itachi immediately saw through.

 _Why are you lying? What are you hiding from me?_ Itachi thought as Hoshiko wished him goodnight and made herself comfortable on the ground.

With her back to Itachi, he missed the worried look on her face.

* * *

 **In case you didn't know, Usuratonkachi basically means 'useless' in Japanese and is what Sasuke frequently calls Naruto. I just find it a funny insult and I guess we'll find out where Sasuke gets his bad potty mouth from, ne? ;)**


	11. Hanabira

_Hanabira_

 **Onyx and Ivory  
**

* * *

"Here's good," Itachi stated after their final day of travelling to get to Hanabira. They were almost at the border between the Fire Country and the Land of Rice Fields; one would only have to continue in a North direction for a few hours before you would be leaving the country.

"For what?" Hoshiko asked as she landed next to him. They had stopped beside a large tree, with overgrown bushes at its base. Itachi reached up to his weasel mask and pulled it off as Hoshiko copied him.

"We're entering the village under the pretense of finding our lost brother, no one can know that we're ANBU," he explained as Hoshiko nodded, she remembered reading that in the scroll.

"We'll leave all our gear here," he pointed to the bush as Hoshiko set down her mask and started unclipping her armor and hiding it under the bush also. She watched Itachi as he reached up to untie his forehead protector as it came loose in his hands, when it fell past his eyes he met Hoshiko's gaze, the girl clearing her throat and untying her own forehead protector. She let her hair down from the ponytail it had been in for a few days now, her gaze then travelled to her exposed tattoo on her shoulder. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she reached into her travel bag and pulled out her long sleeved shirt and ducked behind a nearby tree, changing into it.

Itachi had also changed his shirt, removing the one that had the Uchiha emblem on the back and going for a plain black shirt. Silently, they both stuffed their weapons into their bags and hoisted them back onto their shoulders as they gave each other a small nod.

They walked through the forest, coming to the main road that would take them right to the town as they glanced up and down the road, there were no other people around to see them so they ran until the sign for the village came into view.

* * *

The town of Hanabira was small but was home to almost five hundred people, a large wall surrounded it and the archway had the towns name etched onto it, decorated with petals. Hoshiko gazed up at the archway; she thought it was pretty.

They entered the town, looking around; it reminded them of Konoha, it was practically built the same as their home, the buildings were squished together, they could hear the sounds of a market in the distance, the roads were all straight and filled with people on their daily errands.

"Let's find a place to stay," Itachi said to her as they walked down a street to their left. Hoshiko followed him; she kept looking around the village, thinking about how homely it felt here. She smiled at the people they passed, they returned her gesture; and some even gave her worried looks, why? She didn't know.

They walked by a large open grassed area, with a children's swing set, Hoshiko frowned as she looked up at the sky, it was midday, and it was a beautiful day at that, and yet the swing set was unoccupied.

"Hoshiko."

The girl flinched when she heard her name being called. Her head turned, meeting Itachi's onyx eyes as he faced her, he was only a few feet away, "Come," he said, turning to the right and reaching for a door. Hoshiko glanced up, seeing the name of the building that they were entering as she followed Itachi inside.

The inn seemed small but homely, potted plants decorated the corners and an older woman sat behind a desk reading a book. Her weary eyes glanced up when she saw Itachi and Hoshiko enter together.

"Welcome!" She said, setting the book down. She smiled, showing a missing tooth in her old age as Itachi approached the desk.

"I require a room," he said to her. Hoshiko came to stand next to him as the old woman looked between them both for a second.

"A single futon, or two?" She asked with a smirk.

Hoshiko felt her face flare up in embarrassment. Itachi and Hoshiko briefly shared a glance as the older Uchiha turned back to the woman, "Two," he replied coolly. The woman shuffled around for a few seconds before producing a room key as Itachi handed over the money for their stay.

"Enjoy your stay," the old woman said to them as Hoshiko and Itachi turned to the left, heading to the room.

* * *

"The witness lives here," Itachi pointed to a map of Hanabira as Hoshiko peered over his shoulder. They had settled into their room, dumping their bags on the ground and placing their weapons on their beds, sorting through them for a few minutes before Itachi had pulled out the map and began examining it. Itachi had also spread all the pictures of the missing children across the table for them to memorize once more. The home of the witness was on the outskirts of the village, outside of the wall, he lived on a small farm that produced the crops for the village.

Hoshiko walked over to the window, peering out into the street below, she watched grown adults wonder around the streets, going into shops and food stalls. Yet again, she saw no children.

"Itachi," Hoshiko said his name, turning her head slightly as the boy looked over at her. "Have you noticed that there aren't any children out?" She asked him, remembering the empty swing set from earlier in the day. She heard him stand and walk over to her, she felt his arm brush against her shoulder as he too looked out of the window and into the village below. Hoshiko shared him a glance, noticing how his brows knitted together as he thought deeply about something.

"Let's go talk to the innkeeper," he said to her, turning his back on the window and collecting up the photos and placing them away.

Hoshiko readied herself and picked up the picture of the young boy who looked like Sasuke. Hoshiko and Itachi were playing that part of older siblings to this young boy, seeing as all three of them had similar characteristics. He had gone missing from another village, so their story was safe for now, all they had to do was ask some questions from their witness and see if they could get any leads.

Itachi and Hoshiko left their room and walked to the reception desk, seeing the same older woman from before behind the desk reading the exact same book as before. When she noticed that the two were standing before her she gave them a toothy smile.

"What can I help you with?" She asked.

Hoshiko produced the photo of the boy and showed it to her, "We're looking for our younger brother, his name is Kenta and he's missing."

The woman had a look of dread on her face as she glanced between the two teens. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know anything about that," she rushed out.

"Then why are there no children outside today?" Itachi asked, his tone strong. The woman set her gaze on him.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It's a sunny day, and the children's playground is empty. A village this size must have children, unless something has happened," Hoshiko said, leaning towards the woman.

The woman looked around nervously, as if looking for someone. She bit down on her lower lip in nervousness, "It's just a coincidence. I'm sorry your brother is missing," her face then changed drastically as she sent them another bright smile, "I can tell you all the best places to eat in Hanabira! If you would like to see our famous cherry blossom trees they're all in the center of the village, I can produce a map if you would like?"

Itachi and Hoshiko shared a bewildered look at each other, confused at this woman's demeanor. One second she looked like she was about to wet herself, the next she had reverted to a sales woman, changing the subject completely.

"That wont be necessary," Itachi said firmly. He gave the woman a short bow of his head and turned on his heel, motioning for Hoshiko to follow him as the two left the inn and emerged out into the daylight.

"There's definitely something going on here," Hoshiko said in a whisper to her companion. Itachi nodded in agreement as he pointed over to the right.

"The Witness' home is this way," he said to her.

* * *

They left the village walls, leaving through the back gate and making their way to the small farm. The road leading up had crop fields on either side of them; a few workers were hoeing the fields and pulling out the harvest. As Hoshiko and Itachi approached the main house the front door opened and a body came flying out, hitting the dirt and rolling away a few feet. In the doorway stood an older man, with muscles as big as Itachi's head and a beard colored grey and black. The young boy who had been thrown couldn't be older than Hoshiko and Itachi, with dark hair and a lean body.

"That'll be the last time you fall asleep on your shift!" The old man yelled, his fist raised in the air.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" The young boy begged, on his knees and his hands clasped together.

"Get out of here, and don't let me catch you asking for another job here again!"

The boy scrambled to his feet and ran down the road, obviously terrified of the old man.

There was a second when the old man didn't seem to see Itachi and Hoshiko standing there, looking like they had just been caught red handed doing something they shouldn't. Once the man actually realized that they were standing there he narrowed his dark eyes at them.

"What do you want?" He barked, stepping out of the house and towards the two. Itachi was preparing himself to talk to the man in a gentle tone, seeing as he was riled up and hotheaded, but Hoshiko beat him to it.

"We're looking for our brother, and apparently kids have been going missing in your village too. Someone said you saw something," Hoshiko said, stepping up to him as the older man wiped his hands down on his trousers.

It was strange, the man seemed hostile at first, but once he heard their fake story his expression softened.

"You heard right," he admitted. Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder to see what expression Itachi had on his face, but the Uchiha was impassive. His onyx gaze was focused on the man. "You'd best come in," the old man waved them over.

Itachi finally looked at Hoshiko, she was silently asking him if they should follow this man in, Itachi nodded to her. Itachi was always a great judge of character, and she trusted his judgment, and if he thought that they should go into this house, Hoshiko would follow his lead.

Once inside, the man led Hoshiko and Itachi to his kitchen area; setting out a pot of tea for them as the two ANBU took a seat on the mats, folding their legs under them and their hands neatly laid in their lap.

The man set out three small cups and poured the tea into them; afterwards sitting opposite the two Shinobi and drinking the scolding hot drink without flinching.

"What are your names?" The man asked.

"Itachi and Hoshiko," Itachi replied to him instantly. They had decided it wouldn't harm the mission if they used their real names, but they wouldn't be using their last names, they were too well known.

"Sadao. I'm sorry that your brother is missing," Sadao said sincerely as Itachi and Hoshiko nodded in thanks. Hoshiko pulled out the photo and showed him.

"Have you seen him anywhere?" She asked. Sadao studied it for a second before shaking his head.

"No, but I'm guessing you know that he's not the first to be taken from the nearby villages."

Itachi and Hoshiko both nodded.

"It started a little over two months ago. At first it was older children, no older then yourselves, they would either be working and not returning home or disappearing in the night. Most thought they had left their villagers, searching for other work or heading to larger villages where there's more going on," Sadao explained as the two Shinobi listened intently. "And then about a month ago was when the younger children started going missing, in broad daylight as well. Some would be playing in the village, their mother would turn to talk to someone and as soon as they turned back, they were gone. If I remember correctly, four have gone missing from this village."

"We heard that you saw something on the night a child went missing?" Itachi said, drawing Sadao's dark gaze to the Uchiha. Sadao nodded and took another drink of tea.

"I didn't see the kid get taken, but I did hear it."

"Hear what?" Hoshiko inquired, her tea lay forgotten in front of her; she was never really a big fan of tea.

"An earthquake."

There was a beat of silence, Hoshiko trying to gather whether she had just heard this man correctly, did he just say…?

"…Earthquake?" She repeated.

Sadao nodded, "I had sent one of my workers home, Ren, he was a young boy, only ten. He's an orphan and I gave him work on my fields to help him with paying for food and his home. I was out working the fields, making sure that everything was fine, Ren had yelled out, telling me that he was going home when I heard it. A loud rumbling sound, the ground shook for a second, when I looked to where Ren was, he was gone, disappeared."

Hoshiko's silver eyes cut over to Itachi, she wanted to know what he thought about it, his brow was furrowed as he stared at the old man. He wasn't giving much away, only that he was just as confused as Hoshiko was; but it was like he was thinking hard about it, like he was trying to understand what this earthquake could've been.

"Take us to where he disappeared," Itachi ordered with a firm tone.

Sadao didn't seem too fazed but the young man's abruptness and hastily nodded and beckoned them to follow him. Hoshiko followed behind Itachi as they exited the house and came outside once more.

They walked silently until they came to halfway down the dirt road leading to the farm. Sadao stopped and faced Hoshiko and Itachi.

"This is where he disappeared," Sadao pointed to the spot where they were standing as Hoshiko cast her gaze around them, even though it had been over a week since Ren's disappearance, she was hoping to see something that maybe someone else had missed. "You're welcome to look around, I've got to get back to work now," Sadao said to the two. He started to turn, pausing and looking back at them. "A word of advice, don't go out walking alone." He said with a pointed look to them both. Hoshiko nodded in thanks, knowing that even if someone tried anything she'd probably be able to take them on.

Once Sadao had disappeared into the fields Hoshiko turned to her stoic companion, "So what do you think?" She asked him. "It's not much to go on, none of this is. I don't see what an earthquake has to do with this, this region doesn't get earthquakes anyway," Hoshiko mused, tapping her chin. When she noticed that Itachi wasn't replying to her she turned to look at him. Itachi was crouching to the ground, his hand grasping the dirt as he dragged his long fingers through it.

"Itachi?" She called his name, thinking that maybe he hadn't heard her and her questions.

He was silent for a few seconds before he replied, "You're right."

"I am?" Hoshiko said, surprised. "About what?"

"That this region doesn't have earthquakes."

"That's common knowledge, everyone knows that." Hoshiko argued.

Itachi finally met her icy stare, "Then why did he mention that was the sound he heard?"

"Uh, did you meet the guy?" Hoshiko asked, placing her hands on her hips. "He looks insane, he probably heard something else. I say we go back to the inn and ask that lady some more questions, she looked like she knew something." Hoshiko tapped her chin as she turned her body in the direction of the village. She walked three steps before the ground under her feet shook and she heard rumbling.

With a gasp she looked over her shoulder, preparing to see Itachi coming under attack from whoever had took the boy, Ren. Instead she saw Itachi with the palms of his hands on the ground, a hole big enough for them to jump through at his feet.

"…What?" Hoshiko asked breathlessly as Itachi stood tall on his feet.

"An earthquake." He said with a smirk.

Hoshiko approached him as she stared down into the hole, it was pitch black inside but there was a gust of cold wind blowing out of it, meaning that there was indeed something down there.

"Itachi," Hoshiko said, dread laced her voice as she met his gaze. "This means that Shinobi were the ones behind it."

The look that Itachi gave her chilled her core; his expression grew dark as his onyx eyes glared down at the hole in the ground. Itachi reached into his pack and brought out the small flashlight, he clicked it on as the yellow light lit up the hole. Hoshiko did the same, bringing out her own flashlight.

Itachi gave her a tight-lipped nod as he dropped down into the hole. Hoshiko took a deep breath, glanced around her surroundings one more time, feeling the sensation of eyes on her as she stepped forwards and dropped into the hole.

It was a short drop, only a few meters down from the surface. Hoshiko shone her flashlight around, seeing the tunnel curving around her head. The constant flow of wind ruffled her hair as she turned to see Itachi a few feet away from her, examining the tunnel with his hand on the wall of it.

"Well, this was definitely done by Shinobi," Hoshiko said as she shone the light further down the tunnel. There seemed to be no end to it, but on the other end, behind her the tunnel abruptly stopped. When Hoshiko realized that Itachi hadn't responded to her, she shone her light on him, seeing him staring into the endless dark of the tunnel.

"Can you talk or something? I want to know what you're thinking," she stepped closer to him. Itachi gave her a glance over his shoulder for a split second before talking off at a brisk walk deeper into the tunnel.

"We should see where this goes," he said bluntly as Hoshiko sighed in frustration. She waited a few seconds, cooling her burning desire to yell and bitch at him before following after him.

The first junction they came too had both teens stopping. There was a tunnel that branched off to the left and shortly after that another one branched off.

"Those all lead into the village," Hoshiko pointed out as they turned down a tunnel that branched off to the right, they had turned as the gust of wind went that way. They had concluded that wherever the wind was coming from would be an exit to where the Shinobi who made the tunnels would have to leave and enter the network of tunnels.

"We can assume that this is how they have been getting around and taking the children without being seen," Itachi replied to her.

* * *

They walked for what seemed like hours, their hearing heightened, listening out for any sounds of footsteps or ambush. Itachi had requested that Hoshiko use her chakra senses once in a while to make sure that they weren't being followed or if anyone was ahead of them, so far she hadn't sensed anyone except the villagers above their heads.

"What could they possibly want with children?" Hoshiko asked rhetorically, the question had been burning a hole in her head for the last couple of days.

"Children are easy to manipulate," Itachi replied, surprising Hoshiko, as she hadn't expected him to answer her. "Taking the older children and orphans who don't have anyone looking out for them means that they'll go unnoticed."

"But they've taken children from families too," Hoshiko added. She saw Itachi nod his head.

"Which means they might've become desperate."

"Desperate for what?" Hoshiko said to herself, barely a whisper.

She thought about all of the children, who were all probably terrified at the moment, not knowing what was going to happen to them, who had taken them and for what purpose. They were probably thinking that they'll never see their family again, and the ones who were orphans…even though they may not have anyone waiting for them in the village; they were still valued greatly in Hoshiko's eyes. She vowed to herself that she'd find them, and she'd bring them all home, and then she's take down whoever had done all of this.

* * *

Hoshiko was getting sick of the tunnels. They had been walking for over two hours, following a new turn here and there every time they felt the wind change, it wasn't until Itachi made a noise in the back of his throat that Hoshiko actually paid attention to what she was now seeing.

They had emerged into a large cavern, the ceiling was larger here and the large open area was about the size of an academy classroom. Itachi and Hoshiko looked around, seeing three more branches of tunnels going in North, South and East directions. To the East was a strong breeze, and if Hoshiko squinted hard enough, she was sure she could spot light at the end of the tunnel.

"What direction is the next town over?" Itachi asked her. Hoshiko pointed to the South-facing tunnel.

"That way, I think." She said with a shrug.

"And the other town would be that way," Itachi pointed to the north tunnel.

"They're all connected." Hoshiko stated.

"It would be the easiest way to take the children undetected," Itachi agreed.

"More than one Shinobi would have to do this," Hoshiko assumed as she shone her flashlight around once more. It was completely silent within the tunnels, but she still felt like someone was watching her.

"We'll go this way," Itachi said as he pointed to the tunnel with the light. "See where it leads out, we might find something else." Hoshiko nodded in agreement as the two set off.

The walk to the exit of the tunnel was short compared to how long they had been travelling, and in no time they had come to the exit. The dirt tunnel transitioned into a rocky cave, in one of the alcoves Hoshiko spotted a lead of rope and material that was probably used for blindfolding and tying hands together. A lantern was hooked onto a sharp rock jutting out of the wall; the wax was all but spent and hadn't been lit in a few days.

Itachi was the first to emerge from the cave, his Sharingan was activated, scanning the area for traps or ninja's waiting to ambush them. His eyes looked in between the trees, scanning the dense leaves and thick branches. Hoshiko followed a few seconds later, shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness after being in the tunnels for nearly three hours. Her silver eyes dropped to the ground as she searched for any signs of footprints left behind by the kidnappers or their victims, but the ground was clean. Fresh mud and leaves coated the floor, causing the girl to huff and cross her arms.

"Great," she muttered. "What now?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at the Uchiha.

Itachi didn't reply as he suddenly leapt up into the trees, climbing as high as he could, Hoshiko was left speechless as she stared after him, watching him disappear among the foliage.

When he dropped back to the ground a minute later Hoshiko jumped in fright and held a hand to her heart.

"What were you doing?" She asked him as Itachi brushed down his clothes and pulled a stray leaf out of his hair and flicked it away.

"There are no settlements nearby, I was getting a better look of the landscape." He replied simply, meeting her stubborn gaze.

"You couldn't have said that before you turned into a monkey and started climbing the trees?" Hoshiko grumbled.

One side of Itachi's mouth lifted, "I would've thought it was obvious for me to check around the area."

A faint blush tinged Hoshiko's cheeks as she turned away from him, embarrassed, "I-I knew that," she muttered.

"There's nothing for us to search here, we should head back and ask around for any Shinobi hanging around the village," Itachi told her as Hoshiko nodded in agreement.

* * *

The sun had just dipped below the horizon when Hoshiko and Itachi jumped out from the hole they had made in Sadao's farm. Hoshiko spotted Sadao sitting on a wooden log a few feet away from them; he had been sharpening some of his farming tools at their arrival as he glanced up at them.

"I was wondering when you two would return," he said to them, rising from his seat.

"Sorry about the hole," Hoshiko said, pointing to the obvious hazard. Itachi was silent as he regarded the older man as Sadao approached the hole and peered down.

"So this is how they took Ren, huh? Bastards…" Sadao ground his teeth together, his fists balled up together at his sides.

"This tunnel would've been made by Shinobi, do you have any idea if there are any here in this village?" Itachi asked him.

Sadao thought about it for a second, rubbing his fingers along his chin thoughtfully, "Can't say that I have. We're a pretty tight nit community, if a stranger suddenly appears the whole village will know about it in a few short hours."

Hoshiko sent Itachi a disappointed look.

"Say…" Sadao started, catching their attention once more, "How did you two know to do that?" He pointed to the hole in the ground that Itachi had unearthed with his Earth release. Hoshiko paled, she had completely forgotten about how they were undercover and no one was meant to know that they were ANBU.

"You're Shinobi, aren't you." Sadao stated.

Itachi and Hoshiko shared a look saying that they were both screwed as they had been caught out. They were both also trying to figure out whether they should continue the lie or admit the truth to Sadao. Hoshiko felt like they should tell the truth, Sadao had helped them discover the truth about he kidnappings, they owed him that much.

"Yeah, we are—"

"Hoshiko." Itachi hissed her name, his eyes narrowed. The dark haired girl turned to her companion.

"He figured it out, Itachi. Besides, there's no point in hiding it, your little demonstration there outed us," Hoshiko pointed back to the hole as she cast her silver gaze to Sadao. He was glancing between he two of them, wondering if he had made the right decision to out them with the way Itachi was glaring at his female companion.

"We're from Konoha," Hoshiko continued. "We were sent here to help find the missing children."

"That team of Chuunin that came the other day, they tried to help us but couldn't figure it out," Sadao said.

"We're not Chuunin," Hoshiko said with a sly smirk. She was proud to finally say something like that. Her and Itachi were _definitely_ not Chuunin, it was to be expected that the Chuunin's hadn't pieced the earthquake being jutsu together, plus, they didn't have the Uchiha prodigy with them like Hoshiko did.

"You're a bit young to be Jounin," Sadao said with a scoff, as he looked them over again. Seeing Itachi a few inches taller than Hoshiko; one with icy silver eyes, another with pitch-black irises. Hoshiko's long dark hair unbound over her shoulder and Itachi's hair tied at the nape of his neck.

Hoshiko crossed her arms over her chest, "We shouldn't say anymore, Sadao-san; but please leave this to us, we'll find Ren and the other children, it's a promise," Hoshiko flashed him a bright smile. The girl missed the pensive look Itachi sent her way as he studied her, seeing no doubt in her expression and eyes as she made her promise to the farmer.

Sadao returned her smile, "I'm counting on you, kid."

* * *

"You shouldn't make promises." Itachi said to Hoshiko as they re-entered the village. They were heading in the direction of the inn, the day had ended and they doubted they could pick up any leads on the Shinobi who had taken the children at the moment; they would start again in the morning. Hoshiko glanced to the side, seeing the side of Itachi's face as he stared ahead of them.

"Why not?" Hoshiko questioned him with a scowl.

"Because what if you don't come through with your promise?"

"I will," she replied determinedly.

"There's no guarantee that we will find the children alive," Itachi argued.

"That sounds like loser talk," Hoshiko snapped. "I thought you weren't a loser? That you never failed a mission?"

"It's not," he bit back calmly, "It's called being realistic."

Hoshiko scoffed at him and faced the other way, "What's so bad about giving people hope? It gives them something to fight for, I thought you were all for that."

Itachi remained silent.

"It's not wrong to tell people to hold onto hope. What's wrong is lying to people to give them hope. It'd be wrong of me to tell Sadao that I would bring Ren back _alive_ , I know that we might not find these kids alive, but just finding them would give these villages closure. I told Sadao that I would find them, I never said anything about bringing them back alive, I'm not an idiot, Itachi."

The Uchiha said nothing again, choosing instead to listen to her words and mull them over.

* * *

They reached the inn; they hadn't said a word to each other since their argument. Hoshiko walked in first, opening the door and stepping inside the warmth. Itachi followed behind her, shutting the door.

"Oh, there you are!" A voice said from further in the room. Hoshiko and Itachi turned to the voice as they saw the old woman receptionist waving them over. "Your parcel finally came today, it's in the back room!"

Hoshiko furrowed her brows in confusion, she looked behind her, trying to see if the old hag was talking to anyone else, but it was just the three in the entrance.

"We didn—ouch!" Hoshiko hissed, rubbing her arm where Itachi had pinched her sharply. One look from the Uchiha had her silenced as Itachi shook his head.

"Follow me, I'll take you to it," the woman said as Itachi thanked her quietly and followed her behind the desk. Hoshiko was still rubbing her sore arm as she bristled quietly but followed after the dark haired Uchiha.

The back room was just a room with a couch, a small table with a few books scattered over it, a wilting potted plant and a small window. The woman ushered them in with a quick peek out of the room before she closed the door and locked it. The woman turned to the two occupying her room as she brushed her hair away from her face.

"I'm sorry for it being this way, but you can't be too careful with whomever may be listening."

"What's going on?" Itachi asked, his tone quiet but still laced with authority.

"This morning, you asked me about your brother. I wanted to tell you more but I couldn't, it isn't safe in this village, especially for children like yourselves."

"We can handle ourselves, please just tell us what you know," Hoshiko said with a firm nod.

"It's just something I have observed and found out over the month, all the children that have been taken from our village have come from Konoha."

"What?" Hoshiko asked, confused.

The old woman sighed and collected her thoughts, "The orphan, Ren. His parents were originally from Konoha, he was born there but they moved out here when he was a young baby. They died in a tragic fire a few years ago; and some of the other children that were taken, their parents came here from Konoha too."

"You're saying that these people are targeting the children of previous Konoha residents?" Itachi cleared up as the woman nodded spastically.

"Exactly, it was only by coincidence that I over heard a few of the villagers talking about it."

Hoshiko and Itachi shared a bewildered look; it made absolutely no sense to them as to why someone would kidnap children whose parents had come from Konoha.

"I can tell that you two are no ordinary kids," the woman sent them a pointed look. "I'm not a prying person, but I will say this, be careful with who you talk to. This village isn't safe anymore; even if you can take care of yourself, watch your backs."

Hoshiko had a sneaking suspicion that the woman had guessed that they were Shinobi; by the way she was speaking about them and the look she was giving them. She was grateful that the woman had spoken to them about this, it had indeed given them another lead but it still didn't point fingers at anyone who could've done this.

" _Arigato_ ," Hoshiko said with a bow.

Itachi nodded his thanks. The woman suddenly remembered about why she had brought them in here as she searched around for a medium sized box and shoved it into Itachi's chest, causing him to 'oof' as he grasped it.

"Be safe," the woman said to them as she opened the door for them. Hoshiko thanked her again and followed Itachi out of the room, the Uchiha with a sour look on his face from being manhandled by the old woman.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Thanks for your feedback! I hope this mission isn't too boring, trust me it's get better and we'll be having some kickass action fight scenes coming up soon! Guesses as to what you think is going on with the missing children? I'll be surprised if anyone actually guesses right! xD**


	12. Uranaishi

_Uranaishi_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Hoshiko heard her companion shift on his futon, the blankets rustled as Hoshiko turned her head slightly from staring out of her window. The sun had barely risen over the village of Hanabira, casting a dewy glow over the village. Hanabira wasn't like Konoha; it was a slow start here. If they were back home, vendors would already be opening their stalls and the people would already be out and walking, going about their daily chores and activities, here the streets were empty and it was silent. It was peaceful, Hoshiko could see herself living here one day.

She chuckled to herself at the thought, Itachi would probably tell her that she'd get bored of a quiet village, which was true, but one could hope.

Itachi roused from his sleep as he sat up on the futon, he blinked away the crusted sleep in his eyes a few times before looking to the parallel futon, the sheets were made and Hoshiko was missing from it.

"Sleep well?" Hoshiko asked him. Itachi turned to the sound of her voice, seeing her sitting on the small windowsill.

"You're awake early." He stated.

"I didn't sleep much," she admitted with a frown. She turned her head back to the window, peering down into the street. She heard Itachi stand from his futon as he made his bed quickly.

"You should've woken me."

"What good would that have done?" Hoshiko said with a scoff. Itachi studied her body language for a few seconds. Her arms were crossed, her back hunched and bags were under her eyes.

"You're worried." Itachi stated nonchalantly, not meeting her gaze.

"No I'm not," Hoshiko retorted with a frown. "I'm suspicious."

"Of what?" Itachi asked.

Hoshiko faced him once more, a quizzical expression on her face, "You're awfully chatty this morning, yesterday I couldn't get a whole sentence out of you." She stated sarcastically as Itachi held her intense gaze. When she knew that Itachi wasn't going to say anything else she sighed in irritation. "The old woman. I've been thinking about what she said to us."

"She gave us valuable information on the families of the missing children," Itachi reminded her.

"Why now though? Why didn't she tell the Chuunin team that came here?"

There was a pause from Itachi, "Maybe she was afraid."

"Why tell us then? She couldn't have known that we are Shinobi. This whole mission doesn't make sense to me."

"They never normally do." Itachi said with a smirk. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him as she pushed off the windowsill and went to sit at the table, Itachi followed. "All we know it that we have to find a Shinobi in this village that may be linked to the disappearances. Surely someone here has seen something."

Itachi took a seat at the table with her as they looked over the map of Hanabira that they had acquired from downstairs in the reception. They scanned over the layout of the village.

"We should start by splitting up, go to the places where the children disappeared and ask around there if anyone saw any Shinobi in the area a day or something before the disappearance." Itachi explained as he marked out the destinations on the map.

"Isn't that a bit risky?" Hoshiko asked. "Shouldn't we stick together?"

Itachi looked conflicted for a second before he shook his head, "I'm guessing this was the reason why we were chosen for this mission."

Hoshiko frowned at him, trying to understand what he was getting at as she continued to give him a blank stare.

"We're both in the age range of the missing children. We're both in ANBU so if anything should happen we should be more than capable to take on the perpetrators if needed by ourselves. We might even be able to draw them out if we split up."

"That's a lot of 'ifs'." Hoshiko mused.

"You doubt your abilities?"

"No!" Hoshiko argued, her brows knitted together in frustration.

Itachi smirked at her reaction as the girl seethed silently at him. His gaze returned to the map, "You take these ones, and I'll take them." He said pointing to the easterly ones for Hoshiko and the westerly ones for himself.

"What should we do if we find them or we get into trouble?" Hoshiko asked as Itachi folded up the map and placed it into his bag out of sight. He turned back to her and met her gaze.

"Flare your chakra, and if we're in trouble send up a _Katon"_ Itachi instructed to her as Hoshiko nodded in compliance. "We'll meet back here in two hours."

* * *

Hoshiko strolled through the streets, her hands clasped behind her back as she gazed around at the scenery around her. The street she was on was full of stores of fruits, vegetables, meats and trinkets. She wished that she could stop and admire everything around her, but she was on a mission, maybe after this was all done she would return here one day. She never really got out of the village anymore since she was a Genin. The last time she had been outside of the village had been for her ANBU exam, which had ended in disaster; but she was determined to make sure that this mission was a success.

Hoshiko passed by a man and woman, both held hands together as they chatted quietly about something.

"I can't believe you spent that much on a silly reading!" The woman hissed at her partner as the man shrugged his shoulders.

"She was offering a deal, and has she ever been wrong before?" The man replied back.

Hoshiko paused in her stride, glancing over her shoulder as she continued to watch the couple as they travelled further away from her, she could no longer hear their conversation but what she had heard intrigued her.

 _A fortuneteller?_ She thought.

It was nearing the two-hour mark of her search and nothing had turned up, she had been to both sights, asked around about any suspicious activity in the days before the kidnapping but everyone said the same thing, 'No'. She had even used her chakra senses to see if there was any residue from a jutsu that was probably used to go into the tunnels below them, but nothing turned up.

Hoshiko walked down the street that the couple had come from, her head looking left and right at the stores, she was searching for something but wasn't ready to admit it to herself about what she was actually searing for.

It wasn't until a voice from behind her made her stop.

"Are you looking for me?"

Hoshiko turned, confident that the voice who had spoken was in fact aimed at her. What she saw had her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline. The woman before her was young, maybe just out of her teen years; her hair was long and blonde, the colour of sand. Her eyes were a dark inky black. Her face was youthful and wrinkleless; she was dressed in a long flowing dress with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

"And you are…?" Hoshiko asked with a bark.

The woman laughed, covering her mouth with one hand as she waved the other at her teasingly, "You've always been a suspicious one, haven't you." She stated to her.

Hoshiko frowned at the woman, looked behind her, she saw the name of the shop and cut her gaze back down to the woman.

"You're the fortuneteller?"

The woman giggled, "Were you expecting an old woman, grey hair and wrinkles?"

"Pretty much." Hoshiko shrugged.

"Sorry to disappoint," she said with a kind smile. "Would you like to come inside?" She offered, pointing to her shop as Hoshiko stood back with her arms crossed.

"No offense, but I don't really believe in this sort of thing."

"You must have, why else where you looking for me?"

"I wasn't—!"

A look from the blonde woman silences Hoshiko as she clamps her mouth shut.

"Maybe I can help you with your mission?" The woman offered her. Hoshiko knitted her eyebrows together, how did this woman know about her? Was she behind it? "I didn't mean it like that," she continued, studying Hoshiko's face.

There was a standoff between them, Hoshiko not moving an inch as she used her chakra senses and scanned around the area, she was making sure that no Shinobi were lying in wait in her store to ambush her, she wasn't about to take any chances.

"Fine." Hoshiko complied.

* * *

The woman brought her into her shop; it smelled strongly of a fruity fragrance. The blinds were drawn at the windows and dozens of candles had been lit around the room, them being the only light source for their eyes to see with. At the front of the room was a small desk, a little notebook and a metal safe, probably for her money from readings that she gave out. In the center of the room was a small table, a long candle in a holder and two pillows on either side of the table.

Hoshiko removed her shoes as the woman did the same, setting them aside as she took a seat at the table, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Hoshiko stood awkwardly at the entrance as she cast her gaze around the room.

"What troubles you?"

Hoshiko smirked, "Shouldn't you know that already."

"I'm not a mind reader," she stated simply. Causing a blush to erupt over Hoshiko's cheeks. "I'm simply able to make sense of one's choice of path. Be that in life or love."

"Love?" Hoshiko questioned, walking forwards until she was at the table. She sat down, folding her legs on the pillow.

"I mainly tell people about the one they fall in love with," she pointed to a painting hanging on the wall. It was of the woman, the words around her sayings things like 'find the One', and 'The heart chooses'. There was a price underneath as Hoshiko felt herself blush once more.

"I don't have that kind of money with me," she admitted in defeat, her voice barely a whisper.

"Don't worry, I won't be charging you for this reading. I only wish for the safe return of the village children," her smile was kind and sincere.

"What's your name?" Hoshiko asked her.

"You can call me Aishi."

"I'm Hoshiko." The young girl replied.

Aishi held out her hand, signaling Hoshiko to extend hers, she did so hesitantly as Aishi gripped it tightly and flipped it over so that her palm was facing upwards. Aishi tenderly traced her fingers over Hoshiko's palm.

"You carry a heavy burden on your shoulders, one that you shouldn't carry alone…a dark shadow looms behind you constantly." Aishi met Hoshiko's gaze as the younger girls eyes were widened slightly. Aishi continued, "The road is long, and full of holes, you must be careful to navigate them, unless you want to be lost forever in the dark abyss. Overcoming obstacles is your strong point, and you should remember that, it will save you more times than you know."

"That doesn't sound very pleasant," Hoshiko sighed as Aishi released her hand. "It didn't give me any information on the missing children."

"Didn't it?" Aishi questioned with her eyebrow raised.

Hoshiko was silent as she went over Aishi's words, trying to figure out if she had given her any clues about it, the main thing that Hoshiko was worried about was this shadow that apparently loomed behind her, she couldn't figure out what that was meant to be. The one thing was clear to her was the first part, the burden. The burden of her Mizukiri, of the knowledge of Kakashi's past, she had been keeping it to herself. Aishi was telling her to open up to someone, but how could she possibly do that? Telling someone that she had the ability to take people's memories at will was a scary thing, and Hoshiko was scared of her powers enough as it was.

"I have given you your reading," Aishi said to her with a small incline of her head. "You are a strong girl, Hoshiko. Remember that, I believe you can figure out whatever is in your way, trust in yourself."

Truth be told, Hoshiko was more confused now then before. She was thankful nonetheless, even if she didn't really believe in having your future told, it could all be a stinking heap of garbage for the most part. And really, none of what Aishi had said had given her any clues about the missing children.

"One more thing," Aishi said. "Seeing as you're here already, would you like to know about the one you will love?"

"What?" Hoshiko squeaked, embarrassed. Aishi gave her a charming smile.

"All women want to know about the one they will fall in love with, don't you want to know?"

"No!" Hoshiko retorted instantaneously. Her cheeks becoming increasingly hot just by thinking about what Aishi could do. She was fourteen and an ANBU, she didn't have time for love, she had to focus on her mission. Love could come later, if it ever did.

"What is the point of life if there is no love in one's future?" Aishi remarked.

"Lots of things, love doesn't make the sun rise; and it certainly doesn't dictate my life." Hoshiko said stubbornly. Aishi chuckled at her.

"You are not the least bit interested?" Aishi rose from the table and went to the back door, opening it up and disappearing for a few seconds. When she returned, in her hand was a steaming cup, the steam curling up into her face as Aishi set it in front of her. Out of her dress she pulled a little bag and handed it to Hoshiko.

"If you wish to find out, take the tea leaves from the bag and place them in the cup. Drink the tea and hand it to me."

Hoshiko stared at the unmoving cup, with her intense gaze it was like she was waiting for it to sprout legs and arms and dance around the room. With a quick glance to Aishi who was sitting patiently Hoshiko reached for the bag and took a pinch of tea leaves in her fingers and sprinkled them into the cup.

"How did you make it so hot so quick?" Hoshiko asked as she watched the tealeaves float to the bottom of the cup.

"I had one prepared just before you arrived." Aishi said with a knowing smile.

"I thought you weren't a mind reader, how did you know I'd do it?" Hoshiko questioned.

"I'm not, but I had a feeling that you would've given in eventually. Your curiosity is a strength in you, but it is also your greatest weakness sometimes."

"Thanks." Hoshiko muttered sourly.

Hoshiko placed the cup to her lips and drank deeply, tasting the sweet tea as I glided smoothly down her throat. When it was almost empty Hoshiko titled it back and swirled the extra water in the cup. Once she was finished she handed it back to Aishi who was waiting with an open hand.

Aishi's inky eyes darted quickly around the cup, obviously seeing something that Hoshiko would have no idea about.

"I see…a man with a heart of stone and eyes stained with blood—"

"What?" Hoshiko interrupted. Her mind immediately jumped to conclusions. _Eyes stained with blood._ That could only mean one thing…

"You and him are fated to walk the same road, but complications will throw you off. A betrayal will break you."

"Are any of my readings ever going to be happy?" Hoshiko grumbled.

"I see a tragic sacrifice, only seeing as one when the road ends."

"What does that mean?" Hoshiko asked, her head hurting from all this information. She was right to not believe in this sort of thing, it was complete nonsense, both of her readings had been dark and filled with betrayal, was she ever allowed to be happy?

"In time, you will come to understand the true meaning of love."

The sound of the door opening behind them caused Hoshiko to jump.

"Found you."

Hoshiko turned, her mouth slightly parted in revelation as she stared at the new visitor. Itachi closed the door behind him, the candlelight casting dark shadows across his face as he continued to keep his gaze on Hoshiko. Hoshiko met his onyx gaze, her mind thinking back to what Aishi had just told her.

' _Eyes stained with blood.'_

Sharingan.

His keen eyes glanced over at Aishi as he gave her a nod out of respect; Aishi returned it with a kind smile.

"It's past the two hour mark," Itachi said to her, a slight annoyance to his tone.

" _Gomen_ , I got sidetracked." Hoshiko said. Standing from the table and turning to face Aishi once more. " _Arigato_ for the readings."

"You're welcome, I hope they will be of use to you in the time to come." There was a knowing twinkle in Aishi's eyes as Hoshiko knitted her brows together in confusion. She hated being this confused, she liked things explained simply to her, she hated having to solve riddles and puzzles, Itachi did enough of that already, she just like some straight answers for once in her life.

* * *

"What were you doing?" Itachi asked her as they walked back to the inn. Hoshiko was a few feet away, her hands shoved into the pockets of her pants and her head downcast as she stared at her feet as they moved.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Hoshiko replied quietly.

"She was a _Uranaishi_ , wasn't she?" Itachi guessed. Hoshiko found herself nodding. "Did she say anything useful about the missing children?" Itachi asked. Hoshiko's head shot up, looking over to her right.

"You believe in that sort of thing?" She questioned.

Itachi didn't meet her gaze but simply smirked, the corner of his mouth turning up, "My Obaasan used to be like her, she would have my Oka-san drink a cup when she was pregnant with Sasuke and I and she would tell her what gender we would be."

"Was she right?"

"Of course not," Itachi chuckled. Remembering fond memories. "But it didn't stop her from trying. I was supposed to be a girl and Sasuke was meant to have a twin."

Hoshiko laughed loudly, picturing Itachi as a girl.

"Why do you believe her then?" Hoshiko asked, motioning to the store that was behind them.

"Because I believe that there are people out there who believe they are true _Uranaishi_ ; and my Obaasan did get one thing right."

"What was it?" Hoshiko asked, curious.

"That my Oka-san would only have two children." Itachi said with a smirk directed at Hoshiko. The smaller girl found herself grinning at his words.

As Itachi turned away from her and looked ahead, Hoshiko's smile dropped. She thought back on all of what Aishi had told her, about her fate or destiny and also about her love life. She didn't want to believe in a superstition, she liked to make her own destiny and not have anyone tell her otherwise, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she was right, and maybe there were some truths to the words that she spoke. Only time would tell.

* * *

Hoshiko entered the room first and collapsed on the futon, her face pressed against the pillow as she sighed deeply and shut her eyes. Even though it was only nearing midday she was exhausted. The mission was taking a lot out of her.

"I have a lead." Itachi stated.

Hoshiko shot up, standing on her bed with her finger pointed at him, "Why didn't you say anything, baka!" Hoshiko hollered as Itachi walked over to the window and glanced out.

"I couldn't on the street. We don't know who might be around," he said simply, emphasizing the fact as Hoshiko realized this and lowered her hand.

"What did you find out?"

"There's a man, he isn't a Shinobi but its rumored that he hires them to do his dirty work." Itachi said. Hoshiko clenched her fist and ground her teeth together.

"What kind of person kidnaps innocent children?" She ground out. "What else is there?"

"Just that the Shinobi he hires aren't from Konoha, the man I spoke to didn't recognize the emblem on the forehead protector."

"Well that's something, at least we don't have to suspect one of our own anymore," Hoshiko shrugged as she sat down on her futon, her legs crossed and her head resting on her hands as she thought about where they would go from here. "Did they say where this guy lives, or has his base?"

"No one knows. It could be in a village or it could be somewhere out in the forest. It has to be near the entrance to the cave that we found." Itachi said as he fished around for the map of the landscape as he began brooding over it.

"We need to get on the inside, it's the only chance we'll get to figure out where he is and why he's doing it." Hoshiko said. A plan was forming in her head as she slowly looked over at Itachi. The Uchiha was reading over the map but paying attention to her.

"But how…no." Itachi said firmly as he met her gaze, figuring out instantly what Hoshiko was implying.

"It's the only way, Itachi!" Hoshiko retorted, standing up and walking over to him.

"You will not use yourself as bait, Hoshiko." Itachi stated firmly to her, straightening his back and towering over her. Hoshiko didn't back down. With her silvery eyes set in determination she spoke.

"You said it yourself. There was a reason why _we_ were chosen for this mission. This is the reason! You were saying today that we might lure them out by being alone."

"Luring them out and willingly being bait are two very different things." He replied.

"Then how else are we going to find them? We can't sit around and do nothing, this is the only way!"

"There are other options."

"No there aren't. Do you have such little faith in me that I can't do this?" Her voice has quieted, her eyes softened. "I want to do this, Itachi."

Itachi held her gaze, he hadn't held her gaze for this long in a while and he realized why, Hoshiko always showed her emotions through her eyes. Even if her face was set in stone her eyes always betrayed her, and he could see that she wanted to do this, and who was he to stop her?

"Ok…"

Hoshiko thought she had misheard him; she blinked a few times, standing there silently as she waited for him to laugh and tell her that he was joking, but he remained staring at her stoically.

"Really?"

He nodded, "You're right. It would be idiotic of us to not use our position to our advantage. I believe that you can do this."

Hoshiko felt a smile creep over her face, she felt pride well up in her chest at his words, finally, he had actually said something about her skills and he was trusting her enough to do this.

"I wont let you down."

"You wont."

* * *

Hoshiko fidgeted in her navy blue yukata. She had gone out to buy it with the meager money that she had, she couldn't be seen in her Shinobi gear, she looked like a girl who could handle herself, and for this to work, she had to look helpless. She had brushed her hair out, letting it down over her shoulder as she glanced over at Itachi who was staring at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" She barked at him.

He shook his head, turning his attention back out the window, "Nothing."

Night had fallen. After all their evidence gathering, three out of the four kidnappings had happened at nighttime, it was their best bet for the Shinobi to be out looking for their victims.

"I'm ready," Hoshiko said with a determined nod. Itachi turned his back on the window, folding his arms over his chest.

"Remember to keep your chakra masked for as long as you can. If the Shinobi sense even the smallest amount of chakra from you they'll know something is up."

"Yeah I know," Hoshiko said with an eye roll. "Be all damsel in distress and everything. Don't put up a fight, figure out where the hell I am and try to get all the children out safely."

Itachi scoffed, "I'm glad you think this is going to be easy."

Hoshiko smirked, "When is anything I do ever easy?"

There was a pause between them, uncertainty hung in the air as Hoshiko cleared her throat and ran her hands down the cotton material of the yukata. She had to admit that she was pretty comfy, but it wasn't ideal for her to fight in if it came to that; luckily she had on underneath a tank top and her ninja shorts in case she needed something more maneuverable.

"If they do appear," Itachi suddenly said. Making Hoshiko raise her head to meet his onyx gaze. "I'll tail you. I wont engage unless you send me a signal. We want to do this with the least casualties as possible."

"Ever the pacifist, Itachi." Hoshiko sighed as he gave her a stern look. She waved her hand dismissively.

* * *

The benefit of them being undercover and under the fake story of looking for their lost brother was that news would've hopefully travelled back to the man who hired the Shinobi. If he got word that another two children were in the village without guardians then hopefully he would send someone to try and get them.

Hoshiko left the inn and took slow and deliberate steps through the village, it was eerily silent, and the only sound coming from the night bugs as she walked. Her silver eyes darted to all the shadows that the buildings made, thinking that she would soon see a pair of eyes staring back at her. She had to remember to calm her breathing and keep her chakra masked; she thought back to the first time Itachi had instructed her to mask her chakra. She had come a long way since then; back then she could only hold it for around twenty minutes of so, now she could do it for hours with ease. It was no problem for her; the main issue was for her to keep her body relaxed.

She was on edge, knowing that Shinobi could be following her at this exact moment made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, she knew that if she came under attack she couldn't fight back, she needed to let them take her; it went against everything she had trained for but she needed to do this, she couldn't screw it up.

* * *

The sound of a foot slipping on a tile had Hoshiko's ears prickling, she didn't acknowledge that she had heard the sound; instead she calmly continued walking down the street. She was heading in the direction of a place she knew there were a few tunnels that intersected underneath her feet; she was going to give them more reason to want to take her.

She passed a series of shops, some of them were still open, and one of them was a bar with loud boisterous laughter coming from within. Hoshiko felt the warm air from inside wash over her skin, she felt relief and safe for a split second before she passed by and was thrown into the darkness once more.

It was now that Hoshiko could feel piercing eyes on her, she now knew that she was definitely being followed, it was difficult for her to not turn around and search for the kidnappers, she wanted to confront them right now and demand to know who they were and what they were doing with the children, but yet she still had to keep reminding herself that she was doing this for the children, this was the quickest and easiest way for her to save them all.

In the far distance, in the shadow of an alleyway, Hoshiko saw the familiar face of Itachi. He was pressed up against the wall, hiding away from whoever was tailing her. Hoshiko was worried that he was going to be seen by the kidnappers and their plan would be ruined but he quickly made the hand signals to say that there were two Shinobi on the roof behind her. Itachi had positioned himself in a way that would be impossible for the Shinobi to see him. His chakra was also masked, it wasn't as efficient as Hoshiko's and she knew that if the Shinobi were sensors they would've sensed him by now. They were getting lucky now.

It was by sheer luck that they had managed to lure out the Shinobi responsible, it was also luck that Hoshiko was still very new to the ANBU registry. Even though ANBU files were top secret, sometimes whenever ANBU were sent out on mission's their identity was exposed. No one would know that she was ANBU.

Hoshiko stopped walking, pretended to have a stone stuck in her sandal as she bent down to the ground to fish it out of her shoe, muttering under her breath as she did so. As soon as her head was bent she felt the two Shinobi make themselves known, she tried to keep her chakra under control and pretend to be a simple girl walking on her own at night.

She looked up, seeing a man and a woman standing before her. They were both taller then her. The man had long dark hair and a forehead protector around his neck. His eyes were small and dark, his nose crooked; he had a scar on his cheek as he smirked down at her. The woman had short-cropped red hair, her features were soft but the smile she had sent chills down Hoshiko's spine, her jagged teeth glinting in the moonlight. She also had a forehead protector; her one was fastened across her forehead. Hoshiko frowned at the emblem on the shining metal. It was one she didn't recognize; she had never seen it before.

It was a simple music note.

"Who are you?" Hoshiko asked in a small voice, backing away from the two.

"Doesn't she know not to walk around at night?" The woman teased in a sickly high-pitched voice. Her jagged teeth flashing once more as she spoke.

"You'd think kids these days would be smarter then that." The man said as he lurched for Hoshiko. She stumbled backwards, faking fear as she turned and ran. She pretended to be out of breath, fearing for her life.

She yelped in surprise when the man jumped in front of her, cutting off her escape as she spun around, aiming to double back when the woman appeared, stopping her from moving.

"Running wont help you." The woman hissed hatefully as she reached out and grabbed a fistful of hair. Hoshiko winced painfully as she tugged on her hair.

"Let me go!" She cried out.

"Do it now," the woman ordered to her companion as he nodded and advanced towards her.

* * *

Itachi watched from his view from the alleyway. It took all of his strength to not jump out and take down the Shinobi, he had to remind himself that Hoshiko was just acting the part and they needed her to be taken, it was just hard for him to watch the man and woman get away with this. He sighed deeply and counted to three.

They would get what was coming to them, they all would. Hoshiko was capable of this; he had to believe in her.

Itachi watched as they cornered Hoshiko, the woman reaching out and grabbing her hair. When Itachi heard Hoshiko cry out he felt something in the pit of his stomach. Her cry hadn't been fake; they were actually hurting her.

He held himself back, she was ok, she could handle that. If she was really in trouble she would take them out herself or signal him, she was fine.

"Do it now." He heard the woman say as Hoshiko struggled against her. Itachi watched as the man stalked towards Hoshiko. The woman held Hoshiko still as the man placed one hand on her forehead and the other made the rat seal. Itachi activated his Sharingan, his eyes bleeding red just in time for him to see what kind of jutsu they were about to do on Hoshiko.

 _Genjutsu?_ Itachi realized as Hoshiko's body suddenly went limp as she crashed to the floor. He heard the two laugh at her unconscious body. The man glanced around quickly; making sure that there was no one around as he bent down and tossed Hoshiko over his shoulder.

Itachi's red gaze studied Hoshiko's chakra flow, it seemed that the type of Genjutsu that they used was a basic but strong one, it only sent the victim into a deep sleep. Itachi knew that Hoshiko could break out of Genjutsu easily enough; it had been one of the things that they had practiced with during their years of training.

Itachi watched as the woman made the Earth release hand signs as she placed them on the ground. He watched the ground open up, the rumbling sound exactly as he remembered it from the previous day when he had found the tunnels. The two Shinobi jumped down into the darkness, the hole closing up behind them as Itachi sighed in worry.

Now he had to tail them, and wait.

He really hated waiting.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Wow I had a lot of feedback for the last chapter! It made me so happy that you guys are enjoying it so much and all have your theories xD well kudos to the ones who guessed that it was...I wont say it just in case there are people who haven't figured it out yet! But still thanks for all your reviews and feedback! Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, there's two more chapters in this arc and then we'll be wrapping it up and going back to a canon storyline...sort of. And do you think Aishi's reading? I love that part, having Hoshiko not be a believer but still having her fortune told cracks me up xD**

 **REPLIES**

 **0tterlyBored** \- Welp, you guessed it. To be honest I wasn't trying to make it difficult, but the question is...is that the only thing that's going on here? We'll have to see! Thank you! I know how you feel about the massacre, I do have the whole story planned out and things will be going a certain way. I'm not saying much but I do hope that in the end everyone will be satisfied with the ending as I have worked hard on it to make it different from everything I have read! Kakashi will be making his return, he plays a big part in this story, as well as the other supporting characters. I'm thinking of ways to include Naruto in it if poeple want to see them interact with each other also? Thank you!

 **Bananarock509** \- It doesn't surprise me that there might be similarities between stories, I mean, there are so many Naruto fics out here that it's probably not possible anymore to have a story that doesn't have similar aspect to other fics. But I promise that I came up with this storyline all by myself, I haven't taken anyone's work. I may have used inspiration from fics but i have not copied. But thank you and I definitely will be continuing!

 **StarshineRose18** \- Thank you! I'm happy you think that!

 **ImagineStories** \- That slimy bastard! All will be revealed in the next chapter!

 **NothingNooneZero** \- Oh gosh thank you! I'm so happy you think that! Here's a chapter I hope you enjoy!

 **jcwhale2380** \- Thank you! Here's an update!

 **Wow I had a few more reviews then normal for that chapter! You guys inspired me to write so quickly today as I finished this chapter in one whole sitting! (that almost never happens as i am the queen of procrastination)**


	13. The Burden

_The Burden  
_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Itachi waited patiently where he stood, he would give it a few minutes before he would attempt to follow the pair into the tunnels. He didn't want to risk being detected, with Hoshiko out in their Genjutsu he didn't want to place her in any harms way. He was certain though, the strength of their Genjutsu wouldn't be enough to keep her down for long, she could've even broken out of it already.

When the mental timer in Itachi's head was up he stepped out from the shadows, he was fully garbed in his ANBU gear now. He had returned to their hiding place before Hoshiko and ventured out into the night to fetch his armor and forehead protector. Hoshiko's armor and headband were safely tucked away in their room back at the inn. His Konoha headband glinted in the moonlight as a sound from above had him looking to the night sky.

The full moon shone down on him, a few clouds dotted the sky, obscuring the heavenly stars but Itachi was able to make out the Konoha hawk that descended towards him. It always amazed him how the animals would be able to find anyone anywhere, it had something to with their own chakra network that some animals had, they were able to pinpoint the location of their targets almost always, but that wasn't the reason why Itachi had a frown on his face as the hawk landed on his shoulder.

The bird chirped, pecking at its leg where the small scroll bag was tied.

Itachi, with his furrowed brow, reached up to unclip the bag and pull out the scroll. He remembered sending his crow summon to Konoha with a scroll containing information about their mission so far and asking a question about some information they had received from the woman who ran the inn. He had sent it yesterday and a horrible feeling sat in his gut at how fast he had received a reply, normally the hawk would've come in the morning, but for it to be here already had him feeling nauseous.

Itachi unfurled the small scroll, his dark eyes reading along the parchment, he came to the end as his eyes widened suddenly. His heart leapt up into his throat for a split second, as he took off in a sprint in the opposite direction. The hawk of his shoulder squawked loudly in his ear and flew off into the night, but Itachi didn't care that he had annoyed the bird, there was something that he had to check; and he had to check it immediately.

He leapt up onto the roofs of the buildings, jumping from one to the other as he landed gracefully on the ground in front of the inn. He ran back inside, pushing the door open and hearing the little chime above the door. His eyes scanned the reception room, looking for the woman who always sat behind the desk with her book, but she wasn't there.

Itachi was positive that she had been there when they had left the inn, she had wished them farewell. Itachi leapt over the desk and slid the door open to the back room where they had been the night before, when the woman had given them the information on the missing children. The room was empty, same as before. His dark eyes glanced around, looking for anything out of place but the room was neat and tidy. He backed out of the room and headed down the short hallway.

Upon entering the inn for the first night the woman had told them that if they ever needed anything to come ask her at her room, she had told them which room and it was where Itachi found himself now.

He didn't even bother with the door handle, using excessive amounts of force he kicked the door open, not caring about if any of the other occupants heard him, which actually made him realize that he and Hoshiko were the only two people he had seen in the inn for the duration of their stay.

The door flew off it's hinges, falling to the floor as Itachi walked in calmly, his eyes blazing red as he searched the corners of the dark room, waiting for something to jump out at him. He expanded his senses, not sensing anyone else in the room with him.

He turned to corner and into the adjourning bedroom as he stopped, a putrid stench wafted into his nostrils, it was something he had smelt before and was cursing himself for not picking it up sooner. His eyes settled on something as they widened once more, a curse leaving his lips as he spun around, flying out of the room.

"Dammit, Hoshiko."

* * *

This first thing that Hoshiko realized was that the Genjutsu was a lot stronger then she realized. It had taken her a long time to break free of it, which was strange seeing as she was normally very adept at Genjutsu, seeing as her partner did have the Sharingan. When they were younger and Hoshiko was still her annoying childish self Itachi would frequently place her under Genjutsu to stop her from talking and annoying him, it would give him peace and quiet for a few hours while she managed to break out of the technique. She was always able to figure out a Genjutsu quickly and dispel it in a mere few minutes, but for some reason this one had taken her a lot longer.

The second thing she felt when she awoke was that she was lying on cold stone floor. She was freezing and another thing was that she could hear whispering voices around her. Her silver eyes opened slowly, her brow furrowed as she squinted in the darkness; she spotted a lone lantern hanging from a rusted hook in the stonewall as a young face peered down at her. His face was round, with reddish dark hair and inky black eyes.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Hoshiko stared at him, confused as to who the hell this kid was, he couldn't be much younger than her. She pushed herself up, bracing her hands against the cold floor as she twisted her body around. She was met with over a dozen pairs of innocent eyes, all peering at her curiously as they all huddled together, most with their arms wrapped around each other, bottom lips trembling. Dirt marred their tiny faces, with clear tear tracks running down their plump cheeks.

Hoshiko found herself looking back at the boy who had spoken to her; he was staring at her with a furrowed brow.

"Can you talk?" He asked.

"Of course I can talk." Hoshiko answered him with an eye roll. With another glance around the small jail cell Hoshiko pushed herself to her feet, noticing that her shoes were gone. Thick iron bars caged her in with all the other missing children, a small door with a heavy lock was in one corner as she wondered over to it and tried ripping it off, it was no use.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you in my village before." The red headed boy said as he followed her.

"I'm Hoshiko." She stated, her silver eyes looking around for any weakness in the iron bars, she could try to use chakra-enforced strength to get out of there.

"Ren."

Hoshiko turned, looking over her shoulder and taking in the appearance of the redheaded boy again. So this was Ren, this boy was the most recent to be taken, no wonder he was the most chattiest, he hadn't been here as long as the other children and hadn't had all of his hope diminish.

"I met Sadao-san," Hoshiko said to him. She watched as Ren's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, a faint smile crept over his face, then he frowned, looking perplexed as he met her gaze.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Hoshiko glanced around at the frightened children; they weren't scared of her, just for themselves. Their tear filled gazes broke her heart as she pressed her lips into a firm line.

"I'm a Konoha Shinobi. I was sent to locate you all and bring you home."

"You're here to save us!" A little girl cried from the corner, she was huddled up against another older girl.

"I want to go home!" Another little boy cried out, breaking down in tears as Ren hurried over to him, patting him on the shoulder gently and reassuring him. Hoshiko sighed. She would've been in a much better position to help these children had she not been stuffed in the same cell as them. She had been counting on the fact that she would break out of the Genjutsu quick enough to disarm or kill her kidnappers, not be stuck with the children in question.

Hoshiko looked at each child seriously, a determined look on her face, "I'm going to get you all out of here; but first I'm going to need your help."

* * *

"This isn't going to work," Ren said with a deadpan look to the girl who was supposedly his savior. Hoshiko narrowed her eyes at him, lowering herself down onto the ground.

"It will, trust me. These people want us alive and kicking, just start screaming." She hissed to the boy as Ren rolled his eyes at her. Hoshiko clamped her eyes shut as Ren strolled to the iron bars. He gripped them tightly, and taking a deep breath he started screaming.

"Help us! Please she's going to die!" Ren screamed. "There's something wrong with her, she wont wake up! Please help her!"

Footsteps echoed into the stone hallway as one of the kidnappers appeared in front of the iron door. His headband glinted in the low light as his malicious eyes darted from Ren to Hoshiko who was feigning sleep on the floor.

"What happened?" The male Shinobi ordered.

"She just collapsed. I don't know what's wrong with her!" He cried helplessly. The enemy Shinobi glanced around the cell, his narrowed eyes settling on Hoshiko.

"Stand back, against the wall, all of you!" He ordered. The children complied as the Shinobi opened up the door and stepped into the cell.

Ren watched helplessly, holding onto the hand of a boy just a little bit younger then him as the Shinobi lowered himself down.

His fingers pressed against Hoshiko's neck, his brow furrowed; and then Hoshiko made her move.

Hoshiko twisted her body, her legs sweeping his out from underneath him as the Shinobi landed on his back.

"Aler—"

Hoshiko pounced on his torso, a hand clamped around his mouth tightly, she gripped his head tightly, and bringing it up and then smacking it back down onto the cold ground. The Shinobi's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he was knocked unconscious, or dead, Hoshiko didn't have time to check as another Shinobi suddenly appeared at the cell door.

The Shinobi only had enough time to open up the cell door as Hoshiko lunged for him, she jumped up, hanging onto the bars of the door as she swung her body into the Shinobi, effectively kicking him to the other side of the room. The Shinobi groaned, seeing stars as Hoshiko ran over to him; she pulled her fist back and punched the Shinobi in the face, knocking him out cold as he slumped to the floor.

"That was awesome!" A child cried from behind her. Hoshiko turned, seeing a young boy, with dark hair and dark eyes, she realized that this boy was Kenta, the child who Hoshiko and Itachi had been claiming was their brother.

"You really are here to save us." Ren said in awe as he appeared at the door.

Hoshiko looked up and down the dark corridor, seeing stairs at the end. She motioned to two of the older children, both boys who looked older than herself.

"Take these two and lock them up in the next cell over, there should be keys on their bodies." The two boys nodded and began dragging the bodies away.

"What can we do?" It was Ren that had spoken. Hoshiko stepped closer to them and shook her head at him.

"Nothing right now, I need you all to stay here until I can clear a path and have my partner come here and help me." Hoshiko told them all.

"We want to fight, they took us from our homes, they need to pay!" A girl, probably the oldest in the group said, her eyes set in hard determination.

"They will," Hoshiko replied. "But you have no training. I'm not letting any of you get hurt or killed."

"They took three of us up an hour ago!" Kenta called out as Hoshiko met his worried gaze.

"What?"

"Just before they brought you in, some of his men came and took us. We haven't seen them since."

Hoshiko swore loudly, she looked around at all of the children's hopeful and pleading faces, "Ok, all of you stay here. I'm going to go and find those kids and I'm going to get all of you out of here."

"Be careful." The same girl who had voiced her determination spoke to Hoshiko with a serious gaze. "I overheard them saying something about the man who orchestrated everything might be here too."

"All the better," Hoshiko said with a devilish smirk.

* * *

Hoshiko crept up the stairs, expanding her chakra senses as she tried to figure out where the other children where being held and the man who did all of this, she would end this all. She didn't sense anyone nearby so she pushed open the door and stepped out into a lavishly decorated room. Large paintings were on the walls and under her feet were polished wooden flooring. From the look of the place Hoshiko guessed she was in a some sort of mansion, the man who did the hiring had to have exceeding amounts of money considering the amount of Shinobi in the place.

She sensed around five Shinobi in a room at the end of the hallway, she angled her body towards it and began creeping along the wall to the sliding door.

As she reached the door a chill ran up her spine, the little voice in her head was telling her that something felt wrong but she pushed it aside and wrenched open the doors. She stepped into the well-lit room, her eyes seeking out the occupants in the room as slow clapping reached her ears.

Five Shinobi, all wearing the same musical noted headband stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, smirks on their faces as their gazes all focused on Hoshiko as she glanced to the man sitting in a large plush chair.

He was short, with greying hair, a long grey beard, heavy gold jewelry decorated all ten of his fingers and a large chunky gold necklace was hanging around his neck. As the man clapped his rings clinked together.

Hoshiko walked into the room, finally understanding that this had been what the man expected all along, her and Itachi had been played.

"I'm impressed, Ginyoru Hoshiko." He said to her.

Hoshiko's frown deepened as she eyed up all of the Shinobi in the room, her gaze finally settled on the man, "You seem to know me, but I don't know you."

"Ah, forgive me," he said, rising up from his chair. "My name is Kosui. I'm what you would call a private contractor."

"You mean you paid these Shinobi to kidnap innocent children!" Hoshiko exclaimed, her anger rising.

Kosui chuckled, a hand covering his mouth, "You seem to be misinformed. You assume that I have paid these Shinobi, they were given to me to use."

Hoshiko frowned, confused but was trying not to show it.

"I was contacted by a very formidable person to acquire fifteen children for him. In return I would sell the children to him at a very reasonable price for him to conduct his experiments."

"Experiments?" Hoshiko said in disgust, her stomach turned at the thought. "How did you know about me?" Hoshiko asked.

Kosui narrowed his eyes into slits as he laughed, "I have known about you the second you stepped foot into that hovel called Hanabira. Shiki!"

To her left, another door slid open, revealing a person who entered the room. Hoshiko's eyes widened in disbelief, "You!"

* * *

 _The door flew off it's hinges, falling to the floor as Itachi walked in calmly, his eyes blazing red as he searched the corners of the dark room, waiting for something to jump out at him. He expanded his senses, not sensing anyone else in the room with him._

 _He turned the corner and into the adjourning bedroom as he stopped, a putrid stench wafted into his nostrils, it was something he had smelt before and was cursing himself for not picking it up sooner. His eyes settled on something as they widened once more, a curse leaving his lips. His eyes settled on the mangled corpse of a man, the rightful owner of the inn that he and Hoshiko had been staying in the past few days. Itachi cursed, turning on his heel and flying out of the room._

* * *

Hoshiko's eyes landed on the woman, the kind woman who had run the inn that they had been staying at. She pushed her glasses up her nose, smirking at Hoshiko as she came to a stop next to Kosui.

"You were apart of it?"

The woman made the rat seal, and before Hoshiko's eyes, she watched as the old woman's face morphed into a younger version of herself, clad in the same ninja gear that the others wore.

"I would have sensed a _Henge no jutsu!"_ Hoshiko growled, feeling idiotic that her and Itachi had let something as simple as that slip by them.

"It's not the _Henge no jutsu_ ," the female ninja said to Hoshiko. "My master has studied the secrets of a Legendary Sannin's ability to make herself appear younger. He merely twisted her technique in an effort to make someone appear older, the technique itself is impossible to detect."

Hoshiko seethed in her spot, her fists were shaking in anger. So her and Itachi were played from the very beginning, she could only imagine why, but learning why wasn't important, the most important thing was getting the children out of the mansion and back home. She also needed to signal Itachi, things were getting out of control and she was going to need his help.

She poured all of her energy into spiking her chakra, their signal for help.

"If you were thinking about getting help from the Uchiha brat you might be waiting a while," Kosui said nonchalantly as Hoshiko's eyes cut up to the man. She kept her face impassive as he continued. "I suspected that he would tail the two who took you so I took extra precautions to make sure that he would be taken care of." The smirk Kosui sent Hoshiko would've sent a cold chill up someone's spine, but Hoshiko wasn't scared, and she wasn't weak. Instead she smirked, her gaze meeting the dark brown of Kosui.

"If you were thinking that a simple distraction would work on an Uchiha, you're sorely mistaken."

Kosui's smirk dropped, he inclined his head, meeting the gaze of one of the ninja. The ninja, in response nodded to the rest of his team. Hoshiko didn't even have a second to prepare herself as all six of them jumped her.

* * *

Itachi glanced up; drawing his kunai out of the body of the ninja he had just killed. It seemed that there had been an ambush waiting for him. Two teams had been waiting in the tunnels; one took Hoshiko one way, and the other led Itachi another way. It was only ten minutes later that he realized what had happened, but it was too late for him to turn back as four Shinobi had leapt out of the trees to attack him.

It had taken just over an hour for him to kill the last one.

A powerful chakra flare in the distance had him turning his body in the direction, the chakra flare was familiar, "Hoshiko." The name left his lips as a whisper as he swore in his head. He should've been there with her by now, he didn't want her to have to flare her chakra in her signal for help. Without a backwards glance Itachi ran off in the direction he had felt the flare, he only hoped that he would make it in time.

* * *

Hoshiko knew that she was outnumbered. She also knew that it would be slightly impossible for her to take on six ninja's on her own, she had no weapons and no armor, they were all still with Itachi who was supposed to bring them when they were busting the children out. Now that plan had all gone to shit.

She dodged another barrage of kunai, her body twisting and flipping as she landed back on her hands and feet, the yukata that she was wearing was indeed getting in her way now, the piece of clothing already had holes and rips in from their attacks. Hoshiko untied the clothing and discarded it to the far corner, leaving her in her ninja shorts and a black tank top; it was a bit revealing for her but what choice did she have, and besides, now she could move better.

Her ANBU tattoo on her shoulder was fully healed, Hoshiko saw Kosui's eyes flicker to it quickly, "He never said you were ANBU!" He cried out in shock.

Hoshiko smirked; at least she had that going for her.

Her chakra senses alerted her to one of them suddenly appearing behind her, she dodged, jumping away, and the second her feet had touched the wooden floors she sensed another one to her left; the male ninja brandishing a kunai in his hand. Hoshiko ducked, kicking him in the gut and quickly disarming him, taking his kunai in her own hands.

She jumped back, blocking a blow with her kunai in hand as she spun in the air, kicking him away as another one came at her, they were trying to overwhelm her with their numbers. Hoshiko couldn't very well use any of her _Katon_ techniques in the mansion, lest she burn the children with the building, which left her with her _Raiton_ techniques.

Hoshiko blocked the female, while she was blocking a male was coming up behind her. Using her quick thinking Hoshiko ducked, kicking her legs up as she kicked the male in the chin, making him soar back and crash into the wall. She spun around and using her chakra-enforced fist, punched the female in the stomach, sending her flying back and hitting the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Hoshiko watched as the remaining four ninja's glared at her, she was a formidable opponent, even with limited weapons. Knowing that she would need a single and powerful attack to finish off the ninja's she took her stance, her icy silver eyes bore into her enemies as she made the Ox, Rabbit and Monkey seal. She held her right hand down, her left holding her wrist as she pooled chakra and lightning into her technique.

" _Raikiri!_ "

Hoshiko felt the burst of energy erupt within her, her arm shook from exertion, the same as last time she had used the technique in her ANBU exam. The wooden floor around her feet began to crack as her body sunk an inch into the floor. A strong gust of wind that had been created by her technique blew her hair around her in an ethereal sort of way.

Hoshiko saw the way her enemies eyes widened a fraction as she pushed off, her body reacting to the new speed and power as she darted left and right, confusing her enemies. The chirping from the _Raikiri_ was the only sound in the room as Hoshiko cornered one of the male Shinobi, plunging her hand straight through his chest with no warning. The man screamed, blood pooling into his mouth as he began to choke on his own blood and spit.

Hoshiko wrenched her hand out of his chest, blood spilling at her feet as his dead body collapsed to the floor. Hoshiko's tunnel vision turned to the next nearest enemy as the female backed away slowly. This was something they had never seen before, her speed was incredible, their eyes couldn't keep up with her movements. It was terrifying.

Kosui now understood why Orochimaru wanted him to lure this girl here. Said man was huddled behind the large chair that he had so easily been sprawled out across only minutes before. Orochimaru had told him that the girl would be easy to defeat, the bastard had lied to him obviously, that would teach him to trust someone who looked and sounded like a snake.

* * *

Hoshiko pushed off from her spot, blood that had splattered onto her shoes kicked up behind her. The Kunoichi prepared to dodge or parry her attack; Hoshiko was inches away from her when suddenly she felt a sharp stinging pain to her back. It travelled from the base of her neck all the way down to her pelvis. She felt excruciating pain flare up as her _Raikiri_ died off in her hand. A scream tore itself through her lips as she could feel the blood run down her legs and back.

One of the Shinobi had managed to sneak up on her, knowing where she would appear to strike the female in front of her to slash her back open. It was the only drawback to using the _Raikiri,_ it gave her the stupid tunnel vision, but she should've been able to sense someone coming up behind her, her chakra senses were far more advanced then the normal Shinobi's.

Hoshiko dropped to the ground face first. She could feel herself loosing consciousness quickly as the edges of her vision began to fade to black.

"She may be ANBU, but she's still a kid." One of them said from above her. Hoshiko managed to turn her head and stare up at the Shinobi; his kunai was coated in red, her blood.

"How?" She asked weakly, her voice wavered.

The Shinobi above crouched down, he was only inches away from her, "We come from Otogakure, a village that specializes in using sound as a weapon."

 _No shit_ , Hoshiko thought bitterly.

"I can use the sounds around me to obscure myself, for example the sound that was coming off that powerful technique, I was able to copy it and surround myself in it, disabling you from being able to sense me. Pretty nifty technique, don't you think?" The man chuckled, throwing his head back in glee. Hoshiko's silver eyes blinked up at him.

She thought about the children who needed her help, they were all probably cowering downstairs in the cells, wondering what was going to happen to them. She had promised to get them all home, and she wasn't about to go back on her promise. If she died here, who would protect them? This Orochimaru that wanted them for his experiments, she wouldn't let him take them.

She thought about her mother back home, she would be waiting for her, wanting to hear about her first mission, if she didn't come back she'd be heartbroken.

She thought about Itachi, he would never forgive himself if she died here, he had voiced his concern about her being bait for this very reason, and she hadn't listened to him. Why did she never listen to Itachi, he was always right, even when he was wrong, he was somehow right.

" _The road is long, and full of holes, you must be careful to navigate them, unless you want to be lost forever in the dark abyss. Overcoming obstacles is your strong point, and you should remember that, it will save you more times than you know."_

Hoshiko thought back to Aishi's reading. Overcoming obstacles was her strong point, she would always find a way to make something work, she was determined and stubborn. Aishi said that her road is long, she wouldn't have said that if her journey ended here, bleeding out on the cold wooden flooring, enemies surrounding her.

Hoshiko chuckled, blood dribbled out of her mouth as she clashed gazes with the man crouched a few feet away from her. The man peered down at her curiously, wondering why a girl on the verge of death was laughing.

"If you think that technique was powerful, wait until you see this one."

Hoshiko finally understood what Aishi meant about the burden on her shoulders, and the dark shadow looming behind her, she was afraid of her Mizukiri, it was both a burden and a shadow combined. The constant fear of hurting her friends weighed her down, like she was sinking.

Her Mizukiri was only feared because it had been used in the wrong way and by the wrong people for the wrong reasons; but Hoshiko was Hoshiko, she wasn't her clan. She wasn't brought up around them; she didn't remember anyone from her clan. If her Mizukiri could save her now and save the children she so desperately wanted to protect, she wouldn't fear it, she would embrace her power

" _Baka!"_ The nearest female screamed. "He said to not go near her!"

It was already too late. Hoshiko focused on her Mizukiri, the power she had been suppressing deep within her gut. She felt it overcome her; she felt the need to touch someone's skin, to drain them of chakra. She could faintly remembered feeling this way when she had been injured during the exam, but this time was different, she knew what was happening to her now, and she knew that none of her friends were around to be hurt by her.

Hoshiko's hand clasped around the mans neck, her fingers digging into the fleshy part of his skin as he gasped for breath. His gaze met hers, a look of pure horror crossed his face as he tried to scream, he could feel the life being sucked away from him.

Hoshiko's eyes glowed ominously; she could feel the flow of chakra entering her body from where her skin touched the enemies. She could feel the wound on her back closing as she stood up gracefully; there was no stumbling with her. She rose up, taking the man with her as she watched his face turn hollow and pale. His body seemed to wither away in her hands. With the flick of her wrist she cast him aside, she had barely used a muscle but his body went flying through the wall, leaving a large hole.

Hoshiko's head titled to the side, examining her damage as she smirked, "Oops."

"You bitch!"

Hoshiko spun around just in time as the female she had tried to kill before lunged for her. She caught her weapon in her hand, blood oozing from in between her fingers as the woman stared at her in shock. The woman tried to jump back but Hoshiko's newfound speed was too quick for her. In a split second Hoshiko's hand was wrapped around her neck, she watched gleefully as the chakra and life was drained from her face and body. The woman turned into a corpse before her glowing eyes, her hair falling out and her teeth dropping to the floor. A sadistic smirk appeared on her lips as Hoshiko threw her body down to the floor, again using little effort but she still managed to crack and lodge the body between the floorboards.

The chakra around Hoshiko grew even larger; the aura surrounding her was becoming unbearable. The cowering Kosui could barely breathe through the murderous intent and the power of her chakra.

Hoshiko stepped towards Kosui and the three remaining ninja who had barely moved a muscle the entirety of the fight.

"Three down…four to go," Hoshiko said, cocking her head to the side dramatically. The three Shinobi gave each other looks as a silent order passed between them; with a swift nod of their heads they each broke through the roof.

One of the males was nearly clear when he felt a sharp tug on his left arm; the tug didn't stop until suddenly he felt pain like no other erupt in the limb. He screamed, his gaze looking down to see Hoshiko below him, his severed arm in her grip as she tossed it away like a piece of trash.

"Damn, I only meant to pull you down, not rip your arm off," she said mockingly as the male crashed to the floor. Blood pooled around him as he screamed constantly. He couldn't think, he could barely breathe, the pain was unimaginable.

"Oh well," Hoshiko said lightly, a smile on her face. She stalked to the ninja, bending down to pick up a kunai as she twirled it in her hand; she crouched down to the ninja. The man was still screaming, tears ran down his cheeks as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head from the blood loss. "You're so noisy. All I did was rip your arm off." Hoshiko muttered. With speed like no other, she slashed the kunai across his throat. He gurgled, trying to breathe but it was no use, he was dead within seconds.

Hoshiko rocked back up onto her feet, her head rolling to the side as Kosui sat with his back to the wall, his eyes were wide and fearful as Hoshiko began stalking towards him, the bloodied kunai in her hand as it left drops of blood on the floorboards.

"Yo—you're a monster!" Kosui stuttered in fear, trying to back even further against the wall, like he was trying to become one with it.

"No better then you," Hoshiko replied. She reached Kosui, kneeling down to his level. "If I'm a monster for killing the people who wanted to sell and experiment on children, then what does that make you?"

"Please!" Kosui pleaded. "I was only doing what I was told, I had no part in the experiments!"

Hoshiko laughed, it was a cruel and toe curling laugh, "Please, Kosui. We both know the type of man you are, you'd do anything for a price. Including kidnapping children. I'm just sorry that your death will be quick."

"No, wait!"

Hoshiko plunged her fist through his chest, mimicking what the _Raikiri_ had done, but this time it was just her pure power and strength that had her caving out a hole in his chest. Kosui spat up blood, splashing Hoshiko's face with it as her smile grew as she watched the life fade from Kosui's eyes. The warm blood coated her hand and arm as she pulled it from his chest, watching his body slouch over and fall to the ground. She stood up, her gaze slowly drawing away from Kosui's corpse as she inclined her head up to the three holes in the roof.

"Now to finish them off," she said.

She sensed a new presence. She turned, her glowing eyes staring into a pair of crimson irises.

"You're a bit late, Itachi. I've already dealt with them." Hoshiko said loudly, motioning to the room littered with bodies.

Itachi surveyed the room, seeing blood everywhere. A mans arm was on one end of the room while the rest of his body was at the other. Two people had holes in their chests and two others were practically skeletons.

"What have you done?" Itachi asked quietly.

A bored look came over Hoshiko's face, "I took care of it. Now two of them got away so I'll be back, I can sense them from here." Before she could even take a step Itachi called out to her.

"Hoshiko stop!"

She faltered, looking back down at him. "What? Want to join?" She offered.

Itachi remained stone faced. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, was this the power of her Mizukiri? What he had seen before with Kakashi hadn't even scratched the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

"Stop this, now." Itachi ordered.

Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him, "Come now, Itachi-kun. I've already killed five of them, I need to finish them off before they head off back to their leader."

"This isn't you." Itachi continued, stepping towards her.

Hoshiko laughed, tossing her head back. She continued laughing for a while until she met Itachi's gaze seriously, "I've never felt more like myself. This is the true power of the Mizukiri, Itachi. I don't know why I was so scared of it? Look at what I was able to do with my bare hands?" Hoshiko pointed to Kosui's corpse. Itachi didn't look; he kept his gaze on his friend.

"This isn't you," he repeated firmly. "Stop it, let's take these children home."

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up after this." Hoshiko said dismissively to him. She went to jump.

"Hoshiko!" The tone of Itachi's voice had her stalling once again. She faced him, annoyance present on her face.

"Let me do this, Itachi!" Her eyes seemed to glow even brighter for a second in her anger.

Hoshiko had to dodge the kunai that he had thrown, it was child's play in her current state, and she twisted her head away, dodging effortlessly. She turned back, and gasped when she was met with a pair of red eyes inches from her own face.

Itachi's Sharingan swirled as stared into her eyes.

He had a theory about being able to disable her Mizukiri if he ever needed too, he had never been able to test it for obvious reasons but now he had his reason. He watched as her glowing silver eyes slowly faded into her normal shine, the chakra around her dissolved into the air, different to what had happened from last time as her body stumbled.

Hoshiko held a hand to her head, feeling incredibly weak. She felt strange, like the past half an hour hadn't actually happened, like she had just been a spectator in her own body. Her body hunched in on itself as she gazed around the room. The pungent smell of blood and death hung in the air as Hoshiko's eyes widened.

 _I did this_ …

The bodies littered around the room brought tears to her eyes. She looked to Itachi, he was still standing inches from her own body, his eyes now back to his bottomless black. His expression was one of sympathy and remorse and a great sadness. She could feel the icy clutch of unconsciousness grasping at her, she tried to fight it, wanting to stay awake. She reached for Itachi, her hand grasping his shirt.

"Itachi…I—"

Her words were cut off, her silver eyes rolled into the back of her head, her hold on his shirt released as she went face first to the floor.

Itachi caught her before she hit the ground, her body shaking against his. He lifted her up into his arms her head lolled to the side. Blood still coated her face and clothes as he was eerily reminded of the last time he had to carry her all bloodied and unconscious.

Itachi stared down at her for a second before setting his face into a blank stare as he leapt out of the room.

* * *

"Should we go for them, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru stood in the shadow of the trees, his loyal comrade by his side as Kabuto pushed up his glasses after asked his question. The two Shinobi that had made it back from the wrath of Hoshiko lay dead at his feet for failing him.

Orochimaru shook his head, "No."

"They are both weak. They would be easy for us to kill," Kabuto reminded him. He knew he was treading on thin ice by arguing with his masters' plan.

"You forget, Kabuto. I don't want to kill them."

"Of course, but may I ask why you did this knowing that the plan would fail?"

Orochimaru faced Kabuto, a sadistic smirk on his face as his long tongue flicked out to moisten his lips, "Who says my plan failed?"

* * *

 **Well...A LOT happened in this chapter! This chapter was actually so much fun to write, I love writing crazy people and fight scenes, I just get listening to some awesome music and bam, it all comes out! So a few things may not make sense but it will all be explained in the next chapter! If you're thinking about how they knew that Itachi and Hoshiko were going to Hanabira, let's just think back to a certain someone who has been hinted at plotting with a certain snake man...you get it yet?**

 **Anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and who knows, next chapter there might even be a little more Itachi/Hoshiko fluff! I mean, these two are already cute but now Hoshiko's vulnerable again, how will Itachi cope?**

 **REPLIES**

 **StarshineRose18** \- ahhh the fortune, I had that planned since forever, I took inspiration from a story that I read years ago that was in a completely different fandom but it had always stuck with me to do something like that! We shall see how it plays out, fortunes are tricky subjects and all! ;)

 **BreatherOfInsanity** \- Thank you!

 **Davina** \- Yay! Hello there and welcome! You're review left me feeling really giddy and happy when I read it, I'm so happy that people are enjoying it so much and we're still only in the early stages, wait until we get a little bit further in...eeeeep I'm excited! Those insults give me life, and we'll be seeing more of Hoshiko interacting with the other people in the narutoverse, how will she effect some certain people? Who knows!

 **ALilSweetNSour** \- Hi thank you! You're review made me feel so happy about everything you said about my little story! Thank you so much, hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	14. Home

_Home_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

The sound of birds chirping was the first thing that Hoshiko heard when she awoke from her deep slumber. As consciousness slowly came back to her she could feel the ache in her limbs and the pounding headache behind her eyes. She groaned softly, reaching up to her face and pressing the palm of her hand into her eye socket, hoping to relieve some of the pain she was feeling.

She was on a futon, a blanket tucked around her body as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room, it was pitch black in the room, nighttime.

Memories slowly came back to her, one by one she remembered everything that had happened. She could hear the screams in her head, the painful cries and the sound of blood splattering against the walls and floors. She squeezed her eyes shut, but her mind was filled with images, some from her own memories, others from the people she had killed. It was filling her up from the inside, the voices, the images. Her hands went to her temple, digging into her scalp as she tried to block it all out. Her body was trembling, her head shaking from side to side.

"Stop," She hissed to herself, her voice hoarse. "Stop it," She hissed again, as if in pain. The screams became louder, the faces of the deceased clouding her vision as she could feel the lump in her throat and the pain in her own heart. "Stop!" She cried loudly.

A knock on the screen door had her jumping in fright; she sat up on the futon, her eyes wide as she searched the darkness. The voices and screams died away slowly as Hoshiko waited for whoever had knocked to enter her room. When she didn't speak there was another knock. Hoshiko threw the blanket off her, noticing that she had been changed out of her clothes and into a white yukata, similar to the blue one she had wore into Kosui's mansion. She didn't dwell on the fact that someone had changed her while she had been unconscious as she stood up and paced over to the door, ignoring the strain in her legs.

She pulled the door to the side, opening it up and letting the light from the hallway seep into the room as a haunted face lunged for her. It was Kosui's rotted corpse, Hoshiko jumped back, a scream ripping through her mouth as Kosui placed his fingers around her neck and squeezed the life out of her. The hole in his heart dripped blood onto the floor; his lifeless eyes bore into hers as she shrieked loudly.

* * *

Hoshiko's body jerked awake, her eyes snapping open in shock as she sat up on the futon. Her whole body shook as she gasped for breath, her fingers clutching at the blanket that had been wrapped around her. Her side bangs stuck to her cheeks and forehead from her perspiration as her silver eyes darted around forest. A small fire crackled nearby, only embers were left as her eyes settled on a figure perched on a log on the other side of the fire. The full moon peeked out from behind the thick clouds as the moonlight shone down on her companion. He was sitting stoically on the log and even from the low fire light and moonlight Hoshiko could see that he was staring at her. She withdrew her gaze from him, taking in her surroundings once more as she rubbed her face and pushed her damp hair out of her face.

"Where are we?" She managed to croak out. She could still feel the drain on her body from using her Mizukiri; it wasn't as bad as the last time.

"Just outside Hanabira. I thought it best we make camp out here in case the Shinobi from the mansion came to find us." Itachi replied monotonously.

"The children?" Hoshiko inquired.

"All have been returned to their villages, they are all safe," Itachi replied softly.

Hoshiko managed to smile, "That's good. How long was I out?" She asked.

"A day," he answered.

Hoshiko nodded, she glanced up at the sky, seeing the billions of stars twinkling above her. She sighed, pushing the thin blanket off her legs as she clambered to her feet.

"You should rest." Itachi told her firmly. She ignored him and brushed off the shakiness in her legs as she slowly walked around the fire and came to sit next to him on the log. She plopped down, a groan emanating from her mouth as she rubbed her legs and arms.

"I will get more wood," Itachi said quietly as he rose from the log, disappearing into the darkness as Hoshiko sat silently, listening to all of the night creatures around her sing their songs.

As she sat there, filtering through her memories, she couldn't help but think back on what happened in the mansion, she could remember everything clearly. The Shinobi she had killed, the way she had done it, the pints of blood splattering on the walls and floors and the painful cries as they begged for mercy. Their screams started to echo in her head once more, just like they had in her nightmare, dozens of memories invaded her vision, were they hers? Or the memories from the people she had killed? She didn't know anymore. Everything was blurring together, she tried to filter out what was real and what was taken. She could see faces, dozens of faces, family, friends; people she had never met before but knew nonetheless.

Her hands found their way to her head, gripping at her hair as she tried to drown out the screams, her body began rocking backwards and forwards on the log as her eyes squeezed shut.

"Please," she quietly begged. "Leave me alone."

Tears began to form under her closed lids as she hunched down, her head touching her knees.

* * *

A hand on her shoulder had her jumping out of her seat, she gasped, her eyes shooting open in fear as she stumbled a few feet away from the log. Her silver eyes found Itachi, who was calmly staring at her, a few thick branches in his hand, the other was still extended out to her as his brows dipped into a frown.

"I'm sorry!" Hoshiko gasped out, trying to calm her beating heart. Now that her attention was diverted, the voices and memories in her head had started to die down, they were still present, they just weren't overwhelming her anymore.

"What are you sorry for?" Itachi asked. He tossed the branches into the dying fire as embers sparked and floated up into the air. He turned his attention back to Hoshiko who was sitting back down on the log.

"I know I said I wasn't going to use it, but I did. I thought that I would be ok, that I wouldn't feel like this…"

"Like what?" Itachi pried.

"…Like a monster," Hoshiko whispered painfully. Her hand clasped her shirt over her heart, feeling the erratic beating beneath her palm. "I wanted to prove that I could control it, that I wouldn't turn out like the rest of them, like what the villagers all thought I would become—but I couldn't control it, and now…"

"You saved fifteen lives," Itachi reminded her, he sat next to her once more. Hoshiko's watery eyes glanced over at her friend sitting beside her.

"I killed them." She stated.

Itachi sighed, "We would've dealt with them accordingly."

Hoshiko shook her head, her mouth agape as she furrowed her brow, "Not that like! There's killing for justice, and slaughtering people. You saw what I did and I couldn't control myself! You saw how powerful I became; I killed all of them without a second thought. You even tried to stop me—how did you stop me?" Hoshiko changed the subject quickly, thinking back to her last memories.

Itachi remained quiet for a few seconds, thinking over what he was going to say to her as he faced her, "My Sharingan." He said.

Hoshiko suddenly remembered that Itachi had indeed activated his Sharingan with her, it had been when he threw the kunai to distract her, when she turned back he was inches from her, his crimson gaze locked on hers. After that was when she felt like herself once more.

"I didn't know if it would work, your Mizukiri is rooted in your eyes and head. I placed a simple Genjutsu on you, interrupting the stream and allowing you to disable it."

Hoshiko pressed her lips into a firm line, "How long have you been thinking about that?"

"Since the first time you used it. I knew that there would come a day when it would happen again, I was prepared to stop you," he replied instantly. Itachi suddenly thought back to the deal he made with the Sandaime.

* * *

" _Then an ultimatum," Itachi said firmly, his onyx eyes meeting the Sandaime's murky brown. "I will ensure that she never harms another person with her Kekkei Genkai again. I know it had been brought to the advisors attention that she is dangerous, if she found out about the Coup, I wouldn't doubt she would try everything to stop it."_

 _There was a tense silence between them both, the two Konoha Shinobi stared the other down, waiting for the other to back down. Itachi hadn't wanted to resort to this, but he saw it as the only way to make sure that Hoshiko wouldn't wind up dead. She would probably hate him if she ever found out, but Itachi was prepared to take that burden on his shoulders, he wouldn't let innocent blood be spilt._

" _Is that all?" The Sandaime asked him with his piercing gaze. Itachi nodded once. "Then I agree to your terms." There was a pause. "But if she should hurt another person, then she will be placed on the surveillance team stationed on the Uchiha watch. Good luck on your mission tomorrow."_

" _Thank you, Hokage-sama."_

* * *

"We shouldn't speak of this to anyone in Konoha," Itachi muttered quietly. "Even if it was against enemy Shinobi, I doubt the advisors would be pleased." Itachi said, referring to Koharu and Homura who had been against her from the very start.

"You're right," Hoshiko agreed, sighing.

Itachi felt bad about deceiving her, he should tell her the truth, that he made a deal with the Sandaime, but then the why questions would pop up, he was doing this to keep her out of the Uchiha affairs. It was better for Hoshiko to not be involved with this; he just hoped that this would be the last incident with her Mizukiri.

"Get some rest." He told her softly, feeling her chakra fluctuate from the stress.

"I can't sleep, I'll have nightmares." Hoshiko stated, her voice weak and quiet. She drew her legs up on the log and wrapped her arms around them, her gaze fixated on the now burning fire. "Every time I shut my eyes, I see their faces, hear their screams, live their memories." Hoshiko froze when she realized what she had said. Itachi didn't know about the memories part.

"Memories?" He questioned, turning to face her. Hoshiko tried to bury her face in her knees. She kicked herself mentally; she hadn't meant to let anyone ever know about her ability to harvest people's memories as well as their chakra. "What do you mean?" Itachi asked her.

"It's nothing," she said hastily, standing up from the log. She tried walking to her futon when she felt his hand grip her wrist.

"Hoshiko," he called her name.

She turned to face him, pulling her arm out of his grip; it was easy seeing as he was applying hardly any pressure.

"Just leave it," she said to him, her eyes hardening. She got two steps before he captured her wrist once more and stopped her from walking away from him.

"Why do you not trust me?" He said.

"Why do you care so much?" She retorted with a frown.

"What did you mean?"

"You should learn when to drop something."

"I will when you learn to stop being so stubborn."

"Don't hold your breath."

Hoshiko held his gaze, waiting for him to back down, but she knew that neither of them would. As Hoshiko continued to stare into his bottomless black orbs, she thought back to Aishi, and her reading of her. Aishi had practically told her to open up to someone about her ability, that she shouldn't carry her burden alone; but could she subject Itachi to the real reason why she feared her Mizukiri so much?

Hoshiko was faintly aware that his fingers were still wrapped around her wrist, tighter then they were before, probably because he didn't want her to turn away from him again.

Hoshiko's gaze softened slightly, she knew that if there was one person on this planet that she could trust with her secret, it would be Itachi. It was doing her more harm than good to keep this to herself, so maybe she should confide in him.

"I take them, the memories." She said finally.

Itachi's expression remained impassive, "…I don't understand…" Itachi muttered. If the situation had been any different, Hoshiko would've laughed at confusing the almighty Uchiha Itachi.

 _So much for being the Uchiha prodigy_ , Hoshiko thought to herself. "It's a side effect, I guess," Hoshiko explained. "When I absorb their chakra, I take their memories too, it happened with Kakashi."

There was a beat of silence.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Itachi asked her.

Hoshiko scoffed and shook her head, "How could I tell anyone? People are scared of me enough as it is, if I say that I can take their memories, how would they react? I'm starting to understand how my clan managed to infiltrate the Konoha camps. They took their memories Itachi!" Hoshiko was getting worked up, her voice was rising, "All those people I killed, I know everything about them, I know their whole lives, I can hear their voices in my head, see the lives they have lived." She thought back to Kakashi's memory.

"I know things that I shouldn't know. Sometimes I think that their memories are my own. I don't know what's real and what's not anymore," Hoshiko said desperately, her voice lowering once more.

"I can take them away." Itachi stated. Hoshiko searched his face for a lie; she found none.

"You can?" She asked.

Itachi nodded once, "The Sharingan can make you forget certain things—"

"Do it!" Hoshiko cried, she stepped towards Itachi, her free hand grasping the sleeve of his shirt tightly. "Please," she added.

Itachi looked for any doubt in her expression but he saw none, she was determined about this. He shut his eyes for a second, and when they reopened Hoshiko was staring into blazing crimson eyes. Her hand dropped from his sleeve and fell to her side.

"You're sure?" Itachi asked her.

Hoshiko nodded. Itachi's tomoe started to slowly swirl as suddenly her hands gripped his shirt again by his stomach, "I don't want to forget about what happened. Just take their memories away," she instructed. Itachi didn't reply but instead captured her silver gaze within his own as he began to filter through her memories, finding hers and the unwanted ones.

* * *

Hoshiko slumped down onto the log, Itachi following her as Hoshiko held her head. Itachi was concerned that he hadn't been able to take them all.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

Hoshiko smiled, glancing over at him, "Nothing. It's quiet."

When Hoshiko awoke the next morning, she kept her breathing even and her chakra flow subtle, she didn't want Itachi to know that she was awake just yet. She felt the sun on her exposed skin; it wasn't yet warm so it was probably early in the morning still. Her head was resting on something comfortable, but she was still sitting up on the log from last night. She could feel the object gently rising and falling in sync with her own slow breaths, it was then she realized that she was leant against Itachi's shoulder. She remembered him telling her to go to sleep after he had wiped her memories from the Sound Shinobi, she had refused, saying that she would still have nightmares about what had happened, thinking back to the horrible one she had about Kosui. Itachi had then told her to try and rest, she had complied, and sometime during the night she had fallen asleep against him.

She wondered why she hadn't fallen off the log, it wasn't like she had any support—wait, she did. Now that she was fully awake she could feel a warm hand gripping her shoulder, Itachi's arm supporting her back as she slept against him during the night. He probably hadn't moved her in case she woke up. Hoshiko also realized that she had slept rather well, even though her back was aching from sitting up, she hadn't dreamt about killing, blood or the stench of death.

She then felt guilty, she made him sit up the entire night on the uncomfortable log with her, he should've just shoved her to the floor and told her to go sleep on her futon like a normal person, but Itachi was too polite to do anything of the sort. She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks as she thought about the position they were in, she had never seen Itachi come into close contact with anyone but his brother and mother, they were the exception, and she couldn't figure out why he would have his arm wrapped around her as she slept soundly beside him while he had to endure the night.

There was a little voice inside Hoshiko's head telling her that she was enjoying the feeling of his hand on her shoulder and the warmth of his arm on her back a little _too_ much; Itachi was just being polite, as soon as she woke up they would go about their day as if nothing happened.

She shifted on the log, pretending to be waking up as she made her chakra return to a more faster flow, as soon as she had started to move, she felt Itachi straighten his back and he withdrew his hand and arm from around her. Hoshiko raised her head from his shoulder, rubbing her eyes as she yawned loudly.

"Did you sleep at all?" Hoshiko asked him through her yawn.

Itachi shook his head. Hoshiko could see the bags under his eyes and the way his face had become paler.

"Gomen," Hoshiko said softly. "I should've let you sleep last night instead of me."

"You needed it more than I did." Itachi commented as he stood from the log. He walked to the fire, seeing the embers still glowing under the ashen logs.

"Don't be stupid," Hoshiko scolded him. "You need your rest too, tonight I'll take the watch."

Itachi kicked the dirt onto the fire, effectively putting out the embers, "Now who's being the fool?" He commented lightly.

* * *

The return journey to Konoha was peaceful for the two ANBU agents; they had detoured into Hanabira before setting out, seeing the lively town, and hearing laughter and joy from the safe return of the children. They hadn't stuck around for very long, both eager to make their way back home. They had jumped and ran side by side the entire time, at night they set their beds up near each other, not realizing it until either one of them had laid down first, but both were too shy to move away. Hoshiko had found it comforting to have Itachi near her, she slept more peacefully when he was, much like the night on the log.

On the third day the tall gates loomed on the horizon, Hoshiko had breathed a sigh of relief and had pointed out to Itachi that they were in fact almost home. "Look there they are!"

"I do have eyes."

Itachi had told her that he had realized something was amiss when the messenger hawk that had returned informed him that the owner of the inn that they had been staying at was a male widow. It had been why they had gone to the inn in the first place, the previous team had stayed there and when Itachi had mentioned the information they had received from the elderly woman the Chuunin team had thought to correct him, setting off the alarm bells in his head. He had also sent a hawk back to Konoha the day Hoshiko had been asleep, informing them of the safe retrieval of the children and the demise of the man responsible, he hadn't gone into detail of how the man had died for obvious reasons but he had dwelled more on the fact that all the children had been returned home safely.

It was then that Hoshiko and Itachi found themselves reporting to the Hokage personally, both stood with straight backs, their arms stuck firmly to their sides and their masks still covering their stoic faces.

"Remove your masks," the Sandaime said, drawing in from his pipe and exhaling the smoke around the room. Both Itachi and Hoshiko complied as they reached up simultaneously and removed their porcelain masks, holding them by their sides. Hoshiko tried to keep the fear off her face, she knew that they had agreed to keep what had happened with her Mizukiri a secret, but she couldn't help but feel fearful that the Sandaime would figure it out. She tried to calm her nerves, this was the Hokage before her, he would be able to pick up on her chakra flow in an instant if she started to panic too much.

"I read through most of your report, but I would like to hear it from both of you with what transpired," the Sandaime requested as Itachi nodded, taking the lead. Hoshiko silently thanked him, there was no way that she would be able to keep the weariness out of her voice had she been the one to recall the events of the past week.

Itachi delved into great detail of what happened to them, he recalled their meetings with Sadao-san and the elderly woman who fed them false information to lure them into the trap at Kosui's mansion. Before the pair had returned to Konoha, Hoshiko had filled him in on everything that had happened in the mansion before he had arrived.

"It seems that this Kosui was using the Shinobi to kidnap the children and he would sell them off to the man behind everything, he wanted them for experiments."

"Experiments?" The Sandaime repeated.

"Yes," Itachi confirmed with a nod. The Sandaime's tawny gaze passed over both Itachi and Hoshiko.

"Did they reveal who was behind it?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Hoshiko chose to talk. "They were Shinobi from a village we had never seen before. They called it Otogakure."

"Sound?" The Sandaime clarified.

Hoshiko nodded, "Their headbands had a musical note, they said their master wanted the children for experiments and he had been studying many aging techniques."

At this, the Sandaime sighed, rubbing his fingers across his forehead as he took another long drag from his pipe. He had a feeling he knew who was exactly behind this.

"Hokage-sama?" Itachi inquired, seeing the defeated look on the old mans face.

"I believe I know who was behind this unfortunate event," he revealed; causing both Hoshiko and Itachi to exchange concerned looks. "His name is Orochimaru."

Itachi was able to recall a few meetings he had with a man called Orochimaru, he had been a Konoha Shinobi a long time ago, back when he was only a boy, he had deserted Konoha after being exposed at experimenting on the residents, he was also the Sandaime's student and one of the Legendary Sannin.

"I've heard about him," Hoshiko said, a slight frown on her face as she tried to recall her memories.

"He was my student." The Sandaime continued. "He betrayed Konoha years ago, we lost track of him when he deserted, the last we heard he had crossed into the Rice Country, if what you say is true then Orochimaru has started up his own Hidden Village and is still continuing with his experiments."

"Why take children from the Fire Country? If he deserted he should've figured out that we would come to find out sooner or later," Hoshiko argued.

The Sandaime rose from his chair, he turned his back on the two young ANBU as his old and weary gaze settled over Konoha. "Orochimaru's hatred stems from being passed over as Hokage after me. He loathes Konoha and the Fire Country; him continuing his experiments is an attack not only on this country but on me as well. His arrogance is also another reason; he believes that he would get away with it and explains why he took the children from the Fire Country and not anywhere else."

"We should send a team to stop him," Hoshiko offered. "Two of his men could still be alive, we can find him and put a stop to this, he's an enemy of Konoha."

"By this time Orochimaru would've covered his tracks," The Sandaime told her, turning around to face the young girl. "There is no need to send a team, I will send this information to Jiraiya, he's been trying to find evidence of Orochimaru for years now."

Hoshiko recognized that name too, she had learnt about the Three Legendary Sannin back in her academy days.

Tsunade, she was the best medic ninja in the Fire Country, if not the world.

Jiraiya, the Toad Sage; he could summon companions as large as towns themselves supposedly.

And Orochimaru, they hadn't gone into much information about the Snake Sannin, only that he was probably one of the most intellectual Shinobi to ever come out of Konoha.

"I commend you both for the safe retrieval of the children and success of the mission given the circumstances that arose from it," the Sandaime changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on Orochimaru any longer then necessary. His tawny gaze hovered over Hoshiko, "You're dismissed, Hoshiko. Itachi," his gaze moved over to the Uchiha who had been standing quietly. "I must inform you about your next mission, please remain." The Hokage said as Itachi quietly nodded his head.

Hoshiko bowed to the Hokage, wondering why Itachi was being briefed on another mission when they had barely been home five minutes. She gave Itachi a reassuring nod as she left the room, shutting the door softly behind her as she headed off down the stairs.

She detoured to the ANBU headquarters to drop off her mask and armor; now that she was back she wouldn't need it until her next mission, she didn't know how long that would be as of yet. She didn't want to say out loud that she was jealous of Itachi already having another mission, seeing as that mission would obviously be without her; they had worked well together, they knew each other and were able to feed off of each other, and she was still slightly terrified that if she went on another mission and Itachi was not there to stop her from going on a rampage with her Mizukiri; people might get hurt again.

* * *

The door shut with a resonating click as Itachi faced the Hokage once more; the Sandaime had returned to his chair and was now flicking through paperwork on his desk.

"I trust no incidents happened with her Mizukiri?" The Sandaime asked.

"None, as I promised," Itachi lied coolly, not giving anything away. He had become accustomed to lying on a daily basis now; it had become second nature to him to lie to those around him. No one was safe from his lies, not even Shisui and Hoshiko themselves.

"That's good to hear, the advisors were worried about it," the Sandaime commented.

"Their worry was not needed. Hoshiko managed the mission fine."

The Sandaime 'hmmed' in acknowledgement as he set down the papers he had been flicking through, "Now then. On to other important matters, you should be informed of what transpired with the Uchiha while you were gone…"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Hoshiko stretched her arms above her head as she exited the ANBU headquarters; a loud yawn escaped her mouth as she glanced up at the setting sun. The sky was melting into a burning fire, oranges, reds and pinks started molding together to create such a picturesque sight for her. Hoshiko decided that she had been away from Konoha long enough to forget what the colours did to the village, the best spot was to see it from atop the Hokage monument. She knew that she should return home to see her mother, she was probably worried about her, seeing as this was her first ANBU mission, but she could wait a couple more minutes, Hoshiko wanted to have this moment to herself.

As she turned to head towards the stairs that would take her up the mountain she spotted a figure crouched by the floor, their back pressed against the wooden fence; their arms encircled their knees. The child's scruffy black hair stuck up in all directions, his pale skin was marred with dirt and his clothes had small tears and stains on it.

"Yo, Sasuke!" Hoshiko called out to the little boy. Said boy turned his head, glancing up at the taller girl as she approached him. His wide onyx eyes, identical to his older brother stared up at her. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, giving him a comforting smile. Sasuke pouted.

"Waiting for Nii-san."

" _Maa_ , you might be waiting a while. The Hokage needed to talk to him about his next mission." Hoshiko muttered.

"Already?" Sasuke cried out, his expression betrayed him as he looked away sadly. "Nii-san is always on missions," he grumbled, a quiver in his voice.

Hoshiko bit her bottom lip as she rubbed the back of her head, "Did I say mission?" She corrected herself with a toothy grin. "What I meant to say was that I'm pretty sure Itachi was debriefing the Hokage _about_ his mission and that he was on his way to go buy you a present for being away for so long!"

Sasuke's reaction was immediate; he jumped up from the floor, his grin wide and his dark eyes sparking, "Really?"

"You bet!" Hoshiko mirrored his excitement. "He said something about it being really expensive and cool you know!"

"That's so awesome!" Sasuke jumped up and down in excitement, his little fists pumping the air.

"You should definitely go find him, he said something about going to the market district, he might be there already!" Hoshiko continued on with the lie as Sasuke beamed up at her.

"Nii-san is the best! _Arigato_ , Hoshiko-nee-chan!"

Sasuke, the fastest she had ever seen the child run, sprinted off in the direction of the market district as Hoshiko stood rooted to the spot, a blush coating her cheeks as she realized that Sasuke had referred to her as a sister. It was the first time that had ever happened, Sasuke normally detested her; they had always been at each other's throats for as long as she could remember. It brought her happiness.

Hoshiko heard footsteps to her right; she sensed Itachi's chakra as she ran over to him. The Uchiha looked startled to see her as she ran right up to him, as she was passing she gripped his hand in hers and tugged him along behind her.

"What's the meaning of this?" Itachi questioned her as Hoshiko leapt up onto the nearest roof. Itachi let out a sound of surprise, as he had to follow along behind her, her grip was like a pair of handcuffs when she wanted it to be.

Hoshiko landed on the roof and crouched down, peering over the tiles as she checked to make sure that Sasuke hadn't seen his older brother. Itachi landed beside her as she released his hand.

"Ok, I don't think he saw us," Hoshiko sighed in relief as Itachi continued to stare at her like she had lost her mind.

"Why did you drag me up here?" Itachi asked her, annoyance in his voice as Hoshiko faced him. She was facing the setting sun as Itachi had to slightly recompose himself, her eyes reflected the sunlight, making them shine ethereally, it reminded him of when she used her Mizukiri, her eyes would glow; but then again it also just seemed really beautiful.

"I kind of told Sasuke that you were buying him a present."

"You what?"

"Well he was sad and he was waiting for you! I told him that you were getting a mission brief and he got really upset so I kind of said the first thing that came to mind!" Hoshiko explained quickly, not pausing to take a breath.

"And now I have to buy him something…" Itachi deadpanned.

"Yes—expensive too."

"Expensive?" Itachi's eyes narrowed.

Hoshiko shrugged her shoulders with her hands up, "I didn't want him to be sad," she said. "What better way to make up for lost time then with an expensive present, works on me all the time!"

"That I do not doubt," Itachi muttered under his breath.

Hoshiko heard him perfectly as she narrowed her own eyes, without thinking she took his hand once more, causing Itachi to jump slightly and try to tug his hand away but Hoshiko just held on tighter as she yanked him off the roof and down onto the ground.

"Just for that, you're going to buy me one too!"

"Why do I have to buy you one?" Itachi asked, confused.

"Because you're being a _baka! Baka._ " Hoshiko scoffed in amusement as she marched through the streets, dragging a seriously confused Itachi behind her with a huge question mark over his head.

* * *

Itachi stood back with his arms crossed, a tender smile on his normally stoic face as he watched Sasuke, his little brother, playing with his brand new Shuriken set that he had bought him not an hour ago. The steel shuriken were more of an ornament then actual weapon, but nonetheless, Sasuke was pretending to throw them at the wooden post. It seemed that Hoshiko's idea had actually worked, when Itachi and Hoshiko had found Sasuke peering into a window shop Sasuke had run over, his little mouth chatting his ears off, begging to know what Itachi had got him. Hoshiko had suggested the set of steel shuriken, to which Itachi had sent her a pointed look but Sasuke had 'whooped' and pleaded with him.

Itachi could never say no to his little brother.

He would never admit it to his boisterous friend, but she had been right, it was the right thing to do for Sasuke seeing as he had been away for over a week, and he was indeed scheduled to go on another mission soon. He just hoped that Sasuke wouldn't be expecting a lavish gift every time he went away.

"These are—really—good!" Hoshiko said in between chews as Itachi lowered his head to Hoshiko. She was sitting on the deck, a pile of dango in her lap as she placed the skewer in her mouth and used her teeth to take all the food off it. "No wonder you love dango so much! These are the best in the village!" Hoshiko said in delight as she proceeded to eat another two.

Itachi sighed, his smile growing, Hoshiko's gift had indeed been dango from the Uchiha owned store just down the road. She lifted her head to look up at him, offering him a stick, "Want one?" She asked, her mouth brimming with the sweets.

Itachi reached out to take the stick from her when Hoshiko quickly pulled her hand away, "Just kidding! These are all mine!" She laughed maniacally, tossing her head back.

Itachi rolled his eyes at her, but then smirked as his suddenly pulled out a dango sweet from behind his back.

It was comical to watch Hoshiko's silver eyes zone in on it as her mouth dropped open.

"Oi!"

* * *

 **Hi guys! I'm sorry this took a little longer to get out, I honestly re-wrote the beginning part so many times! I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to scene to play out when she woke up, but finally i settled on that one and I'm happy with it finally! I loved all of your reviews about the fight and crazy Hoshiko! Hopefully you guys all enjoyed this chapter even though it's kind of a filler/bridge. From now on it'll start to be more focusing on the coup and the Uchiha's downfall! So prepare yourselves for what's going to happen! Also how cute were these little Hoshiko/Itachi moments!**

 **REPLIES**

 **jcwhale2380** \- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and my fight scene's, I love writing them so much but I tend to always drag them on and loose track of how much I write with them, not necessarily a bad thing though! xD

 **StarshineRose18** \- Yes this girl can get a little crazy, I wouldn't want to cross her on a bad day!

 **Bananarock509** \- It's ok I wasn't upset or anything! No harm no foul! I thank you for the compliment! :) Honestly I would find it hilarious if i found another story like this one!

 **ALilSweetNSour** \- She is a badass, I love that about her! Thank you! In a previous chapter with Danzo explaining to his root member he does go into a bit of detail about her abilities, I actually can't remember what chapter it was but he mentions that her clan does have a tendency to sort of become 'addicted' to the power, so pretty much it's her having the side-effects of her ability.

 **Sora4D** \- Yep she's a real creeper with ripping people's limbs off without batting an eye. I hope you enjoyed her reaction and Itachi's reaction to her and all the little moments in between with them both!

 **Sarette** \- Thank you! I do too!

 **Davina** \- Thank you! I'm pretty sure that it's my favourite chapter to date so far, I just love writing the fight scene and Hoshiko going a little cray cray. Post-massacre will be coming up soon, not sure how many chapters as i keep getting new idea's to throw into the story xD

 **Thanks for all your reviews guys! I would like some of your opinions on her abilities, I have tried really hard to not make her too OP and not a Mary-sue, even though she does have a massive power boost and she does become powerful it does give her major side effects that even she can't hide from. I would just like to know if you guys think that it's all ok, do you think she's too powerful? Too weak? Or just right? Remember she is only a kid and has just started using it so over time she'll learn to control it and learn more about her ability but I would just love to hear what you guys think about it!**


	15. The Changeling

_The Changeling._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

In the dim candlelight, the figure set down his teacup on the small table next to him. A knock on the shoji doors ahead of him had his uncovered brown eye cutting over to them, "Enter." He spoke calmly, his voice heavy.

The door slid open, and his eye widened a fraction as he watched the person enter his room. They were clad in ANBU armor, their mask clipped to their belt as she flicked a long strand of ebony hair over her shoulder. The man smiled, "What brings you here?" He inquired.

Her gaze was narrowed into slits as she walked further into the room, coming to a stop at the foot of his chair, she titled her head back to stare up at the cunning man, "I want to know everything."

His smile widened, he made a noise of approval in the back of his throat as Danzo nodded, "Welcome to Root, Hoshiko."

* * *

 **24 Hours Earlier.**

Hoshiko dodged out of the way, avoiding the barrage of kunai heading for her as she took out her Wakizashi and deflected a few away from her, she heard them fall to the ground as she skidded across the grass and brought up her defense again.

Kakashi appeared in front of her, wielding his own Wakizashi as their swords met, sparks flying and the gritty sound of the metal slicing against each other as they fought against one another. Hoshiko flipped over Kakashi, parrying his attacks, as the silver haired man kept attacking her, not relenting his assault on her. Hoshiko dodged and weaved around him, she finally saw an opening as she ducked down and swung her leg out, intending to trip him over as Kakashi saw through it. He back flipped away from her as Hoshiko chased after him, suddenly putting Kakashi on the offensive as he started to block and parry her sword strikes.

Kakashi took out three shuriken and launched them at her, making Hoshiko use her blade to deflect them as suddenly Kakashi launched himself at her, she didn't have time to react as his sword sliced across her shoulder.

Hoshiko didn't cry out in pain, instead she disappeared in a puff of smoke, a large log in her place. Kakashi swore in his head as he scanned the area, trying to pinpoint her location. He knew it would be very simple to locate her if he used his Sharingan but he had promised her that he wouldn't, it seemed that she didn't want anything to do with his gift at the moment.

He heard it a split second before she made herself known, the familiar chirping of one thousand birds in his ears as Kakashi spun around.

" _Raikiri!_ " Hoshiko cried out, leaping through the air with her Raikiri in her hand. Her speed rivaled his own as he lunged out of the way. He was backed up against a tree as he cursed himself for forgetting his surroundings so suddenly. His dark eye snapped back to her as he jerked his head to the side to avoid getting hit by the Raikiri in her hand.

Wood splinters went flying as he heard Hoshiko screech in frustration, "Goddammit!"

Kakashi ducked away from her as he assessed the damage done, Hoshiko was furiously pulling at her hand, which had been lodged inside the thick tree. She released her Raikiri and turned her head to look over her shoulder, "I thought I said no Sharingan!" She cried out in outrage.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he pulled down his headband back over his crimson eye, " _Maa_ , well you see, if I hadn't I probably would've been skewered by your Raikiri. Take it as a compliment," Kakashi chuckled. Hoshiko gritted her teeth and planted her feet on the trunk, now horizontal as she pulled against her wrist.

"Stupid tree!" She hissed in annoyance. Kakashi watched the comical display as he sighed and rolled his one eye at her. "I'll destroy this tree and all tree's within a five mile radius!" She continued on.

With a sigh Kakashi approached the tree as he took his stance and made the correct seals, " _Raikiri!_ " He hollered as his hand suddenly illuminated with electric blue light. Hoshiko's eyes widened as she realized what the older man was about to do.

"Wait, Kakashi-senpai!"

Kakashi thrust his hand into the tree as it exploded, causing Hoshiko to hit the floor on her back and the tree to fall to the side and crash to the ground. Hoshiko shot him a dark glare as she straightened up and brushed herself down.

"What's with the sudden aversion to the Sharingan?" Kakashi enquired as Hoshiko walked over to her canteen and drunk from it.

"Nothing," she replied after drinking. "I just wanted to spar with someone and actually have a chance at winning." She muttered grumpily.

"I think the tree won there," Kakashi stated with a smirk, hidden behind his mask. Hoshiko shot him another dark look. The older man looked away quickly, pulling out his Icha Icha book and burrowing his nose into the pages.

"How can you read that stuff?" Hoshiko asked him, walking up to him as Kakashi glanced at her over the book but then averted his gaze back to the pages.

"It's informative."

"Yeah, whatever."

"A child of your age wouldn't understand the in depth concept of the story."

Hoshiko's jaw dropped as her face flushed red, "I'm not a child! And I know what it's about, it's written by some pervert!"

"He's a brilliant mastermind," Kakashi argued. Hoshiko pulled a face at Kakashi as she looked back at the destroyed tree. "So what was the real reason for you asking me to spar?" Kakashi enquired, his dark gaze not moving from his book.

Hoshiko jumped at the question, "W-what? What are you talking about?"

Kakashi sighed as he snapped the book shut, holding it in his hand as he met her gaze, "When the three of you are in the village it's hard to separate you all. Did something happen?"

"What makes you think that? I could just be wanting the pleasure of your company." Hoshiko bit back with her arms folded. A stern look from Kakashi had her resolve breaking as she sighed, "Fine. I think they're avoiding me; well, Itachi anyway."

"You think?" Kakashi quirked his eyebrow.

"I _know_ he is."

"Did you mess up his hair?"

"No!" Hoshiko exclaimed in irritation. She rubbed her face and sighed, "I don't know what happened. The other day I was at his home eating dango with him and Sasuke, and then…"

" _Oi!"_

 _Hoshiko lunged for Itachi who was smirking at her with the dango stick in his hand. The taller Uchiha swiftly dodged out of the way as Hoshiko spun around on her heel and lunged for him again, missing him as Itachi ate the sweets quickly._

" _There is no hope you in ANBU if you can't reclaim your lost dango." Itachi teased her as Hoshiko felt her face flush red in embarrassment._

" _You're such a baka," she said with an eye roll._

 _Itachi's smirk was ghosting on a full smile, something that Hoshiko hadn't seen in a while when suddenly his expression dropped. His onyx eyes locked on something over Hoshiko's shoulder as the girl furrowed her brow, wondering what could have possible caused him to change so drastically. Hoshiko looked over her shoulder, feeling her insides freeze at the presence of Uchiha Fugaku._

 _Fugaku was a man who rarely showed emotion in public, and Hoshiko had noticed that the man always seemed to scowl deeper when she was around, so she always tried to make herself scarce, but this time she had been caught out. His intense Uchiha gaze bore into her own as she felt scrutinized under his stare, it was like he knew all of her secrets and was waiting for the perfect time to out them. His angular jaw was set, his mouth turned down slightly as his gaze moved over to Sasuke who was still playing with his shuriken._

 _Once his gaze was off her Hoshiko felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but she still wanted to run away from him, only one other man made her feel like this; Danzo._

" _Sasuke!" Fugaku called roughly. The little boy stopped playing immediately and turned to acknowledge his father. "Come inside. I want to hear what you learnt at the academy today."_

" _Hai, Otou-san!" Sasuke replied happily. Pocketing his shuriken and running over to the porch._

 _Fugaku turned his attention to Itachi and Hoshiko who were both still standing completely still; Hoshiko couldn't remember the last time she had taken a breath._

" _Itachi, say goodbye to your friend; we have matters to discuss." Fugaku ordered, turning on his heel._

" _Hai, Otou-san." Itachi replied stiffly as Fugaku disappeared into the house. Sasuke followed, calling out to his father to look at the new set of shuriken that Itachi had bought him._

 _Now that Fugaku was gone Hoshiko sucked in a deep breath, she turned her body to face Itachi, she jumped slightly when the boy was already storming passed her._

" _Itachi…" Hoshiko said in a small voice, she was still recovering from the presence of Fugaku._

" _You should go home." Itachi instructed, turning slightly to face her, his face was emotionless and Hoshiko wondered what Fugaku and Itachi would be discussing that would cause him to act this way._

" _Is everything ok?" Hoshiko asked him, fidgeting with her fingers. She was remembering the last time Fugaku had wanted to talk to Itachi; it had been when she was perched on the branch outside his bedroom. Itachi had changed back then also. Her silver eyes were downcast, staring at the wooden flooring at her feet when suddenly Itachi was in front of her; she was surprised, as she hadn't heard him come closer. Her eyes, so like the reflection of the moon, widened as she watched Itachi raise his hand, his index and middle finger reaching out as he jabbed her lightly in the middle of her forehead. Hoshiko winced, her eyes shutting for a second in shock, when she opened them; Itachi had a kind smile on his face._

" _You still worry too much." Itachi withdrew his hand._

 _Hoshiko furrowed her brow, "Why do you do that?" She asked, rubbing her forehead where he had poked her._

" _I'll tell you next time," he said, turning on his heel and disappearing into the house. Hoshiko stood quietly for a few seconds, contemplating what it could possibly mean when she remembered that Fugaku had wanted her gone. With a shudder she jumped off the porch, leaping over the wall and away from the Uchiha compound._

 _Itachi had told her he would explain next time, but Hoshiko had a strange feeling that things were about to change._

"That was four days ago." Hoshiko finished with a sigh. She had omitted the details about the forehead poke and how Fugaku had wanted to discuss matters with Itachi, thinking that it was something she should just keep to herself.

"I see," Kakashi mumbled, running his hand over his masked chin. "I'm sure he's just been busy, he is the Uchiha heir after all."

"He's never been like that though, he's never cared about running the clan or anything like that!" Hoshiko argued.

Kakashi sighed, "He may not like it, but it is his duty to his clan."

Hoshiko faced away from Kakashi, frowning, she wanted to tell him that Itachi didn't think like that, but she held herself back, it wouldn't be good for her to start rumors about him.

"Why don't you go and talk to him about it?" Kakashi offered.

"What?" Hoshiko gasped, "And risk seeing Fugaku again? No thank you!"

"Then do nothing." Kakashi said firmly.

Hoshiko pursed her lips in defeat. She crossed her arms and thought back on what Itachi had told her, he had poked her forehead and told her not to worry, telling her that he would explain next time.

"Oi, Kakashi!" A new voice shouted from close by. Hoshiko and Kakashi both turned as a figure leapt into the clearing, clad in a striking emerald green suit. Kakashi raised his hand in greeting.

"Yo."

Hoshiko stared at Might Guy with apprehension, she had heard about the crazy lunatic, he was exceptionally skilled in Taijutsu but was insane, he was also Kakashi's self declared rival. Hoshiko balked at the thought that she and Guy were similar in that aspect.

"You're a hard man to find, my eternal rival! Oh," Guy suddenly realized that Hoshiko was standing there. "You must be the new ANBU protégé, Kakashi has spoken about you."

"He has?" Hoshiko asked curiously, her spirits lifting.

Guy nodded, giving her thumbs up and a large toothy smile, "He says that you're a brilliant ANBU, coming from him," Guy jabbed a finger in Kakashi's direction, "That's a great compliment! You must be filled with the shining light of youth!" Guy continued on as Hoshiko, although touched at the compliment, grimaced at Guy's choice of words.

"Thanks." Hoshiko muttered.

Kakashi sent her a look, "Don't let it get to your head." Hoshiko smirked up at the older man, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Hurry, Kakashi! We must go now where we shall indulge in the glorious food of youth!" Guy shouted.

"We're eating ramen."

" _Youth!_ " Guy beamed at the less than impressed Kakashi; the silver haired ANBU rolled his uncovered eye at him. Guy turned his dark gaze over to Hoshiko who was staring at Guy in confusion, she was wondering just how in the world Kakashi was friends with someone who was the complete polar opposite of him. "You should come join us, Hoshiko-chan!" Guy exclaimed.

Hoshiko froze upon the request, she looked from Guy to Kakashi, the latter didn't seem too fazed about Guy's offer. The first thing that Hoshiko thought was that she couldn't believe she had been invited to go and have ramen with Kakashi and Guy, if the fan girls could see her now they'd have her head. The second thing was that after talking to Kakashi about the whole Itachi thing she felt the need to go and talk to him and see if he was ok, something was obviously wrong as she hadn't seen or heard from him in four days.

The girl smiled politely at them both, "Thank you, but there's something I have to do."

Guy looked a little disappointed that Hoshiko had turned down the offer as Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her slightly, "Hoshiko, are you sure—"

"It's ok, Kakashi-senpai," Hoshiko cut him off. "You two have fun!" She called cheerfully, leaping up into the trees and away from Kakashi and Guy.

Guy, not really understanding the situation, turned to his long time friend, "Kakashi! Let's race to Ichiraku's!"

Kakashi sighed heavily, "Fine, Guy."

"On our hands only!"

Kakashi sighed again but proceeded to flip over and begin racing with Might Guy.

* * *

Hoshiko entered the Uchiha compound, she ran quickly through the streets, ignoring the stares she received from the other Uchiha as she soon found herself in front of the Uchiha mansion, the large home for the clan leader and his family; Itachi's home.

Hoshiko expanded her chakra senses, relief flooding through her when she felt only Itachi and Sasuke's chakra from inside the home. Hoshiko wouldn't have been able to do this had Itachi's parents been home.

Her heart was racing as she stared at the sliding door, it was ten feet away from her, but it felt miles away. Her palms began to sweat as she wiped them hastily on her black trousers; she flattened out her shirt out of habit as she approached the home. The noises from the Uchiha market had died away, leaving the sound of Hoshiko's heart thumping in her eardrums the only thing she was able to hear. She wanted to slap herself, she was overreacting; she had been to this house hundreds of times, there was nothing wrong. When she told Itachi about everything she had been thinking he was probably going to laugh at her and tell her that she was being stupid, she felt stupid.

Her shoes clicked against the stone pathway as she stopped inches from the door; her fist rose to rap against the screen.

The door was violently opened from the other side as Hoshiko flinched and stumbled backwards a step.

Itachi stood before her, his onyx eyes hardening at her presence and his mouth set in a firm line, his brows knitted together. Hoshiko knew that Itachi had sensed her and had obviously come to meet her before she could knock on the door.

"What are you doing here?" He said accusingly.

Hoshiko winced slightly from his tone of voice, "I—I came to see how you were." She said nervously.

"It was not required," Itachi replied in the same tone of voice. Hoshiko felt a pain stab right through her heart at his words.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked him, frowning at his attitude and behavior, this was not like Itachi. What was wrong with him? He had been fine with her the other day!

"You need to leave." Itachi ordered, glaring at her.

"Did something happen?" Hoshiko asked hesitantly. "Is it your Otou-san?"

"It's none of your concern." He replied with a hostile tone.

Hoshiko stepped towards him, her hand shooting out and gripping onto his wrist, "I'm your friend, Itachi!" Hoshiko shouted in frustration.

Itachi ripped his arm out of her grip violently, the motion caused a painful expression to come over Hoshiko's face as she realized Itachi didn't want her anywhere near him.

"Have I done something wrong?" Hoshiko cried, vulnerably. "What have I done to you to make you act this way?"

"Leave here, you are not welcome in the Uchiha compound anymore." Itachi stated monotonously.

Hoshiko felt her jaw drop slightly, she felt a lump in her throat as a nauseous feeling overcame her, she wasn't going to cry, this was just a misunderstanding—she couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth right now.

"What is wrong with you? This isn't you!" Hoshiko said weakly.

Itachi remained impassive, he began to turn away from her; Hoshiko saw this and wasn't about to let him disappear without an explanation to why he was acting this way yet. She grabbed onto his collar, pulling him to her as her eyes blazed with infuriation, "You don't get to walk away from this, Itachi! What the hell is wrong with you?" Hoshiko yelled angrily.

In one fluid motion Itachi had slapped her hand off his shirt, Hoshiko's eyes widened as Itachi's Sharingan suddenly blazed to life, his crimson irises boring into her own, "I don't need to explain myself to such an insignificant weak nuisance. I have realized that you can only drag me down. I will one day be the leader of the Uchiha clan, I cannot associate myself with an outcast and a weakling like you, it would bring shame on the Uchiha name for someone like me to continue being _friends_ with you."

Hoshiko's eyes burned with tears and betrayal, her throat began to tighten as she took a step back from him. His eyes were distant but he was still glaring at her. Hoshiko blinked away her tears; she would not show him her tears. She felt empty inside, like Itachi had just reached in and taken all of her insides out, leaving her in nothing but an empty shell. Most of all she felt abandoned, the one person she could count on to always be there, to help her through anything, was now sending her away.

"You can't mean that…" Hoshiko whispered, her voice breaking as one lone tear escaped from her eye and ran down her cheek, dropping off her chin.

Itachi's glare hardened even more so, and for a split second, Hoshiko thought that he was about to attack her. The loathsome look in his eyes had her stumbling back again.

"I do not want to repeat myself again after this. Leave. You are not welcome here, there is only so much patience I can have with this, and I am nearing my limit. If you do not leave I will have the Police Force come and detain you."

Hoshiko wiped her face, removing any trace of the tear that had escaped. She ignored the searing pain in her heart as she balled her hands up by her side, her eyes hardening as she glared at Itachi with all the hate she could muster.

"Fine," she said numbly. "If that is how you really feel about me, I'll go. You'll never have to be around me ever again."

"We have an understanding then." Itachi replied indignantly.

Hoshiko didn't let him show how much that statement hurt her; she turned away from him, walking a few steps before she halted and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to go away.

"You stupid bastard." She hissed, fighting back her tears. Without turning back Hoshiko took off at a sprint.

* * *

Hoshiko lay on her bed, her stormy eyes staring up at a small mark on her ceiling. Her hands were folded on her stomach as she listened to the sounds of the busy market outside and the sounds of her mother cooking dinner. She had ran straight home after her argument with Itachi, she had managed to hold off her tears, something she was proud of, she vowed to herself that she wouldn't shed tears for Uchiha Itachi. He was dead in her eyes now, there was no going back from this, this wasn't like any of their usual arguments. This was the end of Hoshiko and Itachi's friendship.

Hiroka had seen the depressed and fragile look on Hoshiko's face when she had gotten home but Hoshiko hadn't confided in her, instead choosing to quietly march to her bedroom and ask to not be disturbed until dinner before shutting herself away and curling up on her bed, not moving and wallowing in her own grief.

Hoshiko rolled over onto her side, tucking her hand under her cheek as she exhaled a shaky sigh and wiped at her eyes and nose again. Even though she would deny about crying, one or two tears had escaped every so often that she would wipe away.

Hoshiko felt alone. It had been a long time since she had felt this way, back when she was a small child, starting at the academy.

She was trying to make sense of Itachi; she wanted to figure out what could have possibly happened to make him detest her so.

Her thoughts drifted to her Mizukiri, was it because she was a liability? Had he had enough of her and her abilities? Did he not want to be the one to have to talk some sense into her every time she lost control? He was right, it seemed. She couldn't control it, her ability controlled her; he had called her weak, and she was. She couldn't control the one thing that made her—her.

Itachi was never wrong.

"Hoshiko?" Hiroka called through the closed door. "Darling? I know you said you wanted to be left alone…" Hiroka continued as Hoshiko heard the door open. She kept her back facing her mother. "You have a visitor." Hiroka stated.

Hoshiko sighed, "I'm not seeing anyone. Tell them to leave."

"I told them that, but they insisted. You know how the Uchiha are," Hiroka said, a quiet chuckle.

Hoshiko felt her insides freeze. An Uchiha was at her door? She sat up on her bed, turning to face Hiroka; her first thought was that I was Itachi coming to apologise to her. She abolished the thought; it wouldn't be Itachi, not after their argument.

 _Shisui!_ Hoshiko thought happily as she jumped off the bed and sailed passed her mother.

It had to be Shisui! He had obviously heard about what had transpired between her and Itachi and had come to see her. Hopefully he could shine some light on this shitty situation and explain to her why Itachi was acting like a complete asshole.

Hoshiko raced to the door, not bothering to put her shoes on as she wrenched the door aside, her grin wide as she greeted the Uchiha.

It dropped immediately.

It wasn't Shisui.

And it certainly wasn't Itachi.

Sasuke stood before her, all four foot five of him. His onyx eyes, exactly like his older brother's narrowed up at her.

Hoshiko's first thought was to punt the little shit across the street, and then her second thought was why the hell Sasuke was at her house in the first place? How did he even know where she lives?

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" She asked him bitterly. The youngest Uchiha brother folded his arms.

"You totally forgot. You said the other day you would show me a neat jutsu that no one else knew. Not even Nii-san."

Hoshiko cursed inside her head. She remembered telling him that. It was the day Sasuke had received his gift off Itachi. Hoshiko had been boasting about the Raikiri to Itachi and Sasuke, the young Uchiha asked to see it to prove it and Hoshiko had agreed.

"I'm not feeling up to it, sorry, Sasuke," Hoshiko apologized. She thought back on Itachi's words earlier in the day, if he didn't want her around him then she guessed that would apply to his little brother also.

"Did you and Nii-san get into a fight?" He asked suddenly, the previous subject forgotten. Sasuke's eyes were wide and curious.

"What makes you say that?" Hoshiko asked.

"I heard you shouting outside the house."

"What did you hear?" Hoshiko asked him, her eyes narrowing as the little boy waved his hands.

"N-nothing! I asked Nii-san about it but he just told me to go and play, and to not bother you anymore."

Hoshiko gave Sasuke a deadpan look, "And so you decided to do the exact opposite of what he said."

Sasuke's face flushed in embarrassment, "I wont tell him if you don't."

Hoshiko scoffed at him, "I thought you didn't like me, _usuratonkachi_."

"Hey!" Sasuke cried out in offense. Hoshiko noticed that Sasuke didn't confirm nor deny her previous statement, causing her to crack a small smile. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Look, I know I said I would show you that thing, but I can't right now. Maybe another time," Hoshiko said with false positivity as Sasuke pouted at her.

"Now who's the _usuratonkachi?_ " He grumbled under his breath.

Hoshiko gritted her teeth at his words as she stepped towards him and proceeded to bonk him hard on the head.

" _Itai!_ " Sasuke cried painfully, rubbing his head.

"That's my word, _kusogaki_."

"You can't own a word!" Sasuke retorted with a hateful tear filled glare. Maybe she had hit him too hard.

"Well I am now!" Hoshiko said defiantly, placing her hands on her hips. "Now get lost before I decide to _really_ hit you." She said threateningly as Sasuke balked, still rubbing his head.

With a curt wave Sasuke said goodbye and hurried away from the house. Hoshiko watched him go with a long sigh, wishing that things could be different between them, but she knew she had to get Sasuke to leave her alone somehow, physical violence always seemed to work on him, she just hoped Sasuke would stay away from her.

* * *

Hoshiko sat in the darkness of her room, her legs over the side of her bed, her fingers clasped under her chin as she stared a the picture across from her on her dresser. It was a picture of her and her mother after being inaugurated into ANBU, and after her release from the hospital. Hoshiko was clad in usual dark clothes, her forehead protector fastened to her head and her hair coming over one shoulder in waves. Her silver stare, like a stormy sky stared straight ahead at the camera, her expression was somber. Behind her slightly, her mother stood, her hands on her shoulders and a proud smile on her kind features. Hiroka's brown hair was braided over her shoulder as she wore her special occasion dress. Her murky brown eyes were crinkled in a smile.

Hoshiko saw the similarities her and her mother shared, the shape of their eyes were the same, and the shape of their noses and mouths. Her hair colour, her face shape and her eye colour all came from her father, her dead father.

Hoshiko looked away from the picture, "Tch." She hissed. Even if she resembled her mother, she would always take after her father, she didn't have a choice in the matter; she had been given the Mizukiri.

 _I cannot associate myself with an outcast and a weakling like you._

Itachi thought she was weak. Hoshiko tried to tell herself that she wasn't, she was strong; but even she could see his point. Even though she had accepted the Mizukiri as a part of herself, it didn't change the fact that she couldn't control it. When she used it she was powerful; but yet still weak.

Even though she was ANBU, another young protégé, she was weak in his eyes. She had tried, for years to reach his level; she thought she was finally there but Itachi just reaffirmed how out of reach he was. He had been the one to stop her using her Mizukiri.

Itachi was so strong, and she was weak.

 _I don't need to explain myself to such an insignificant weak nuisance._

Hoshiko clenched her fist against her thigh. She would show him! She would get stronger; she would learn to control her Mizukiri.

Her gaze settled on a picture of her father, it was a picture she looked at everyday of him. His short black hair, piercing silver eyes, tall frame and angular features.

"Maybe this could have been avoided had you just told me the truth," Hoshiko whispered to the photo quietly. A part of her wanted the photo to talk back to her, how she wished to be able to talk to her father once more.

Ginyoru Kisho had indeed made a mistake by keeping all information about her Mizukiri a secret from her.

Hoshiko rose from her bed, walking to her wardrobe and opening it up, finding her spare set of armor in case of emergencies, her cat mask placed neatly on top as she pulled them out and did them up on her body.

She clasped her chest plate on and clipped her mask onto her belt; she didn't feel the need to wear it but still wanted it close to her. She strapped her Wakizashi onto her back and stared at herself in her thin mirror.

She noticed a change in her eyes, they weren't the same shining silver they always were, now they were narrowed and a dark stormy grey. Her pink lips pressed into a firm line as she clamped her eyes shut and closed the wardrobe.

She passed by her dresser, stopping for a second to look down at the picture of her father again, "I hope, even after all of this. I can still make you proud, Otou-san."

With a determined look Hoshiko walked to her window, sliding the pane up as she climbed through it, leaving it open as she gracefully darted onto the roof opposite her home.

The streetlights were still on, it had probably only gone passed midnight now, the village was quiet and peaceful, unaware of the impending storm brewing inside Hoshiko's mind and heart. Her gaze was drawn to the edge of the village, where from her vantage point, she could make out the large Uchiha compound. Her mood darkened as she turned away from it, blocking all thoughts of stupid Itachi out of her mind as she quickly and quietly made her way to the ANBU HQ. She had no idea where she would find _him_ , but someone at HQ would point her in the right direction.

* * *

In the dim candlelight, the figure set down his teacup on the small table next to him. A knock on the shoji doors ahead of him had his uncovered brown eye cutting over to in, "Enter." He spoke calmly, his voice heavy.

The door slid open, and his eye widened a fraction as he watched the person enter his room. They were clad in ANBU armor, their mask clipped to their belt as she flicked a long strand of ebony hair over her shoulder. The man smiled, "What brings you here?" He inquired.

Her gaze was narrowed into slits as she walked further into the room, coming to a stop at the foot of his chair, she titled her head back to stare up at the cunning man, "I want to know everything."

His smile widened, he made a noise of approval in the back of his throat as Danzo nodded, "Welcome to Root, Hoshiko."

* * *

 **Welp, now the story starts to really pick up now! I told you that the happiness was coming to an end, and here it is. Hoshiko has gone to Danzo. Dun dun duuuuun. Things start to go more canon now as i'll be following more of the storyline than my own original content, but it'll still have original moments with Hoshiko still in the picture, and things could be changing with her around, but just what the hell as Itachi done! Silly boy! Let me know what you guy's think of the story, i'd love to hear what you all thought about this chapter!**

 **REPLIES**

 **Davina** \- I know, it kills me deeply knowing whats happening soon. I did say that it was all coming to an end and here's the start of it, after fifteen chapters xD Honestly I never expected to be writing so much pre-massacre xD Be prepared to shed some tears soon! And I know this chapter must have been a lil angsty for you!

 **Dark Rose Charm** \- You went on a roll with your reviews! Thank you so much and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!**


	16. Stalemate

_Stalemate_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

" _Do you ever think about who you would be if you weren't a Shinobi?"_

" _No."_

 _A giggle, "Liar."_

 _There was a pause between the two teens as the long haired girl tossed her wavy locks over one shoulder, the setting sunlight shining in her hair. Her companion's dark onyx eyes flickered over to her, watching her as she leaned back on her hands and tilted her face up to the sky, seeing the expanse melting into blues and purples. His eyes studied the side of her face, her small straight nose, full lips and slender neck._

" _I think I'd be a florist."_

" _You were terrible at flower arranging at the academy," he pointed out to her, shifting his gaze off her and over the village below._

" _Exactly!" She exclaimed, a laugh bubbling from her lips. "It can only get better from there. Besides, who isn't happy when they receive flowers? I'd like to make people happy…" She trailed off quietly._

 _Another silence passed between them, not uncomfortable, but peaceful._

" _You still haven't told me yours, Itachi." She reminded the boy next to her, glancing over at him with a smile playing on her lips. The boy in question turned to her, their gazes met for a second before he looked away from her._

" _I've never thought about it." He admitted quietly._

" _Well I have!"_

 _Itachi gave her a look of confusion, wondering why she had thought about this, let alone his. Suddenly Hoshiko was close to him, closer then he would normally like from her, her face was inches from his own, her silvery eyes sparkling with mirth. A large grin spread across her face as she poked Itachi's cheek playfully, "You'd own a dango store!"_

 _Hoshiko delved into a fit of laughter as she leaned back, obviously proud of herself. Unbeknownst to her, she failed to miss Itachi ducking his head down and smiling to himself._

" _And obviously I would get free dango of course."_

"… _Of course."_

* * *

Hoshiko slowly drew herself out of her old memory, feeling the large pit of sadness within her gut as she looked down at the book in her hand. The writing on the pages was messy but she could read it. She snapped it shut, the sound echoing off the stone monument that she was currently sitting atop of. The memory had been unwanted and made her think about the past, which she hated doing. What was done was done, and you couldn't change it. Her stormy grey eyes stared at the cover of the journal; it was bare and tattered, obviously old and worn. The information inside had been something she had been desperately wanting for years, now she had it sitting in the palm of her hand.

It had been three days since she had approached Danzo. He had given her the journal, and told her she had three days to read it and decide what she planned to do. It was odd, she had been skeptical as to why Danzo had given her the book and let her leave, what was he playing at? She didn't trust the man as far as she could throw him, but he had the answers she sought, and he had given them to her. Tomorrow she was to report back to him, to report to Root, and start her new path. She guessed that by him giving her the journal, it was a binding contract that she was now his pawn. Somehow Hoshiko failed to see how this benefited her.

The journal had told her lots of things, about all the different ways for her to use her power, how she can heal exceptionally fast, draw out chakra and store it for later use. There had been a list of names that Hoshiko's eyes had skimmed over, she guessed they were the names of her clansmen who had died in the war, the one's who had infiltrated the camps and died. How else would they have gotten the information if not from studying the bodies of the fallen and interrogating them?

There was a section of the drawbacks from using her ability, Hoshiko had skimmed over that part, she already knew what happened, you turned power hungry and crazy. Excessive consumption had you passing out. The thirst for chakra sometimes became unbearable for some and they willingly sought out victims to drain. The memories drove people to insanity; Hoshiko could understand that part very well.

Her eyes rose to look over the village, it was slowly becoming sunset, the sun starting its slow descent from the sky. This was around the same time she had her memory with Itachi, she cast the thought from her mind, she didn't want to think of Itachi. With a heavy sigh Hoshiko stood up from the stone, she pocketed the journal in her pouch and with a final sweeping look over the village she flickered away.

X

Hoshiko was dragging her feet through Konoha. Her hands were shoved into her black pants as her shin high black boots kicked up dust and pebbles as she walked. It was nearing autumn now, which meant that Hoshiko had swapped out her short-sleeved turtleneck shirt for her long sleeved one. She had heard a few of the older citizens of Konoha grumbling about how they expected autumn to be very chilly this year. She passed by lots of people, but none paid her any notice, her head was downcast and it was like she was invisible to the world around her. As she walked she could start to smell the different kinds of foods from the restaurants along the street. Her stomach grumbled loudly, she wanted to grab something but knew her mother would be making dinner, it was the last one she would have at home for a while she guessed. Danzo had instructed her to inform her mother that she was going on a mission and wouldn't be back for a while, it made her feel uneasy but it was the price to pay for the journal and for Danzo to teach her how to control her power.

"Oh, Kakashi look."

Hoshiko didn't hear the voice that had spoken from within the food stall. It was only when Hoshiko felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder lightly that she stopped and turned to face them. She saw Kakashi peering down at her with his one exposed eye.

"Kakashi-senpai." Hoshiko greeted flatly. She could see his eye scanning over her face, he could tell that something was bothering her by the way her shoulders had been slumped. Her silvery gaze looked beyond his shoulder; looking into the food stall she spotted a group of Kakashi's friends. Guy; Asuma and Kurenai.

Guy saw her looking and began to wave wildly, "Yo! Hoshiko-chan! Come and join us!" He bellowed loudly. Causing Kurenai to wince from his boisterous voice.

"So that's Kakashi's protégé." Asuma mused as he flicked his cigarette in the ashtray.

Hoshiko glanced up at Kakashi, noticing that his hand was still sitting warmly on her shoulder. "You should join us." Kakashi stated.

Hoshiko thought about it for a moment before shaking her head, "It's ok. I need to get home."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi pried. Seeing the flat look in her eyes.

"Thank you for the offer, but I really must be going. Give my greetings to everyone." Hoshiko said, reaching up and pulling Kakashi's hand off her shoulder. She didn't wait for Kakashi's reply as she spun around on her heel and walked off into the growing crowd. Kakashi stood there, puzzled. He had never seen her act that way before. It was like she was a different person, but he knew better then to pry into why she was acting this way, if she wanted to speak with him, she would.

* * *

Hoshiko sat with her legs tucked under her body at the dinner table, her mother sitting across from her as they ate in tense silence. With Hoshiko's suddenly drastic change in mood it had been difficult for Hiroka to keep a conversation with her daughter, it would either end in an argument with Hoshiko storming into her room or her leaving the house for hours.

"I have a mission starting tomorrow." Hoshiko suddenly said, breaking the tense silence in the room.

Hiroka met her daughters gaze, "How long will you be gone?" She inquired.

"I don't know. It's a long term mission."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know."

"Will Itachi-kun be going with you again?"

Hoshiko flinched at the name and the memory, "No." She replied stiffly. There was a moment of silence.

"Did you two have an argument?" Hiroka asked cautiously. Hoshiko met her mothers' gaze for a second, she didn't reply as Hoshiko rose from the table, taking her empty bowl to the sink and placing it in softly. Without saying a word Hoshiko left the dining room and walked the short distance to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Hoshiko sat on her bed, and then threw her body against the pillows roughly, clamping her eyes shut tightly as she wished the pain and loneliness away.

X

Hoshiko was awake at dawn. She was dressed and stared in her small mirror as she drew her long hair up into a ponytail and secured her forehead protector. She adjusted her kunai and shuriken pouch on her belt and flattened out her shirt. With a fleeting glance around her room one last time she left, shutting the door quietly behind her. Hoshiko stood silently for a moment, deciding whether to wake her mother up or just simply leave. She had been annoyed at her last night for bringing up Itachi but she hadn't known the reason. Hoshiko hadn't opened up to her about him, and she couldn't, she wouldn't. With a sigh Hoshiko walked the few steps to her mothers bedroom and pressed the side of her face flat against the wood. She could hear her mother's soft snores as she carefully opened up the door and slipped inside the dark room. Hoshiko approached the bed, seeing her mother's calm and peaceful face brought a gentle smile to Hoshiko's lips. She bent down, kissing her mother on the cheek, " _Sayonara_ , Okaa-san."

Hoshiko left the room without making a sound as she went to the door and slipped on her shin high boots. When she was ready she didn't look back into the house as she opened the door and stepped out into the pre-dawn light of Konoha.

Hoshiko had to detour to the ANBU headquarters before she made her way to the underground complex where Root was housed. Danzo had instructed her to fetch her belongings from there and then meet him underground. Hoshiko could feel the heavy weight of the journal in her back pocket of her pants as she opened the door to the locker room. She didn't need to tell her superiors where she was being assigned; Danzo had told her that he would take care of it. Danzo had told her a lot of things…

With a heavy heart Hoshiko went straight for her locker, opening the metal door as she peered in, seeing her armor, mask and Wakizashi sitting neatly on the top shelf. There was also a spare change of clothes. She pulled them all into her arms as she heard the door to the locker room open suddenly.

Hoshiko peered around the small metal door, wanting to see who had come in so early when she felt her heart stop for a second and her stomach drop to her knees.

It was Itachi.

Her grip on her belongings slipped ever so slightly as she hissed in annoyance and caught everything before it could all fall to the floor. She didn't pay him any attention as she heard him walk passed her and straight to his own locker on the opposite side. It was the first time she had seen him in four days since the argument at his home, she had been thinking for days what she would say to him if she ever saw him again, but now that she was here, she couldn't think of a single word. She was hyper aware that he could probably sense her tension and the fluctuations that her chakra was making from his presence. The last time she had seen him, she had been so sure that he was prepared to attack her.

With a flick of her wrist, her locker door slammed shut loudly, she had used more force then necessary on it as she turned on her heel and wasn't surprise to see him facing his own locker, pulling on his armor. She resisted the urge to feel any emotion towards him. Although what she really wanted to do was yank on his ponytail, really hard. She glared at the Uchiha emblem on his back, picturing it as his face and imagined herself pummeling him to a pulp for what he said.

"Are you going to continue staring at me?"

Hoshiko jumped slightly from the sound of his voice, the tone was cold and icy, exactly what he had used with her the other day. She was surprised that he was the one to speak first; she didn't think he would. She turned her face away from him, glaring at the ground. She decided that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making her embarrassed for being caught staring, instead she began to walk to the door, holding her head up high. She reached for the handle, faltering for a second, wondering if she should say something to him or ignore him completely? She wanted to, she wanted to throw something at him actually, something hard and sharp. Instead of ignoring him she turned her head slightly, looking over her shoulder and seeing Itachi clip on his chest plate.

"You got what you wanted, Uchiha." She returned to her old ways of addressing him by his family name, like she had done so many years ago, when they hadn't been friends at all. She saw Itachi pause in what he was doing but other then that he didn't acknowledge her at all. "After today you won't have to see me ever again. I've joined Root." Hoshiko turned away, not bothering to see if he had reacted to her statement as she thrust the door open and stormed out, slamming it loudly behind her, her footsteps slapped against the hard flooring as she walked as quickly as she could out of the HQ, she didn't want to be anywhere near Itachi anymore.

* * *

Hoshiko was led to a small room, more like a prison cell, when she arrived at Root. Everything was bland, the walls, the floors, even the bed sheet was identical to the wall colour. It was single, with a hard looking mattress and a rickety wooden nightstand with a single lamp. A chest at the end of the bed was apparently for her uniform; she was told no personal belongings were allowed in Root.

"Danzo-sama wants you to meet with him." The masked guide told her as she dropped her clothes onto the bed and spun around on her heel, nodded swiftly she was led out of the room. She took note of where it was so that she didn't get lost on her way back.

Her guide took her down a set of corridors, all had doors spaced out, she assumed it was the rooms for the other members. She looked around in awe when she was brought to a large underground cavern, the bridge she was walking on intersected at the middle, where she could see Danzo waiting for her. Her eyes darted up, where she could see round holes in the roof; where sunlight filtered through, giving the creepy room an even more ominous feel to it. As Hoshiko approached Danzo she could see the slight smirk he had on his face at her presence, she had an inkling that Danzo had been waiting for this moment for a long time and was seriously pleased with himself for finally having her in Root. He had wanted her in Root from the very start, so he was no doubt satisfied with the outcome.

"Leave us." Danzo ordered his minion as the masked man bowed in respect and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hoshiko was left alone with Danzo as she reached behind her and plucked the journal out of her pocket and tossed it to the old man. He caught it, his cane clattering to the ground.

"You can have it back." Hoshiko said, her voice flat. "There wasn't much in there that I didn't already know."

Danzo made a noise in the back of his throat, "And yet you still came here willingly."

"A deals a deal." Hoshiko snapped as she watched Danzo place the book into his many layers of clothing, he then bent down, fetching his cane as he held it firmly in his wrinkled grasp. "You said that for the journal I'd have to join Root. What I want to know is everything that wasn't in the journal." Hoshiko said sternly, keeping her stance strong as she faced the head of Root.

"Whatever do you mean?" Danzo asked nonchalantly.

"Don't play coy with me," Hoshiko frowned. "I know that you've wanted me in Root since I did my ANBU test, which means you've known about me and my power for a long time. The journal just proves it. So, again, I want to know everything you know."

Danzo was silent for a moment, a sinister smirk crept over his mouth as he turned his back on her, "Follow me. We begin your training."

X

Hoshiko followed Danzo silently as he led her through the complex. They walked down countless stairs, and Hoshiko wondered why Danzo was getting down them so smoothly if he needed the use of a cane. While she was pondering what would happen if she 'accidently' kicked the cane out of his hand they had arrived at their destination. Danzo walked under a large archway and into a well-lit room, around the edges of the room were targets and training dummies. The room itself was enormous, the high ceiling reminded her of the room from the second part of her Chuunin exam, just without large statue. Two rows of pillars held up the ceiling, extending down the length of the room. Danzo walked to the center of the room as he stopped once there and turned around, Hoshiko stopped a few feet away from him.

"Tell me, how many times have you used your Mizukiri?" Danzo asked.

"Once." Hoshiko replied instantly. The piercing stare he gave her had Hoshiko gritting her teeth, "Twice."

"And each time, how did you activate it?"

"I don't know," Hoshiko shrugged. "It just happens."

Danzo made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like disappointment; his one beady eye suddenly darted around the room and with a slight nod of his head, four Root members dropped down from the ceiling. She had a split second to react as one of the masked men threw a kunai in her direction; she pivoted out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Hoshiko demanded, tossing a glare in Danzo's direction.

A chuckle came from the old man, "Child, how do you expect to be of any use to me if you cannot control your Kekkei Genkai at will?"

"I can't remember the first time I used it!" Hoshiko argued as she expertly dodged an attack by one of the Root wearing an eagle mask. "The second time…" She thought back on what had happened. She had been injured; her back sliced open as she bled out of the floor. She had been angry with the Sound nin for kidnapping the children. "I was desperate, and it just sort of turned on. I can't do it at will, don't you think I've tried!" Hoshiko argued as Eagle threw another kunai at her, this time an explosives tag was on it as she leapt back, bouncing off a nearby pillar and landing on the ground.

"Maybe you just haven't had the right persuasion." Danzo chimed. Hoshiko glanced over at him, taking her eyes off of Eagle for a second. Movement to her right had her dodging and drawing her Wakizashi from her back as she met Dog with his own blade. Hoshiko strained against him, sparks coming off the gleaming metal as she bared her teeth in rage. "Kill these four with your Kekkei Genkai, or I shall eliminate your mother."

"What?" Hoshiko was so shocked at Danzo's order that she faltered, and she paid for it. Dog whaled into her, plunging his fist into her stomach, and as she hunched over in pain, a loud groan coming out of her mouth, Dog brought his knee up. Hoshiko was launched a few feet back, her back sliding across the hard ground as she came to a stop a few meters away. She rolled onto her side, spitting out blood from where she had bit down on her tongue from the hit. Her stormy grey eyes narrowed at Danzo, as he still stood casually, he had since moved to block the entrance of the room. "You will not touch her." Hoshiko threatened, her voice turning into a growl.

"Then kill them." Danzo said simply.

Hoshiko's gaze flicked to the members of Root, she wondered why the hell they weren't arguing this? Why were they ok with Danzo sentencing their death? Didn't they want to live?

"They're your subordinates!" Hoshiko cried, standing up and ignoring the pain in her stomach, her insides felt like they had moved around a bit from the blow.

"They are expendable."

Hoshiko couldn't believe what she was hearing, was Danzo serious? He didn't really expect her to kill them, did he? He was just trying to influence her, get her to use her Mizukiri…but from the look on the old mans face—he was dead serious.

"I—I don't know how to use it!"

"Then your mother dies."

"No!" Hoshiko screamed, she leapt forwards, intent on fighting Danzo himself but was blocked by Mouse, who made the seals for a _Katon_ as Hoshiko skidded to a halt. Fire burst from the mouth of Mouse, thinking on the spot, Hoshiko made the exact same hand seals as her own _Katon_ came bursting out. The flames met, clashing as heat blazed around the room. It was a fight of fire, both _Katon's_ pushing against the other, and sweat began to form on Hoshiko's brow as she tried to focus more chakra into her attack. Her chakra senses alerted her that someone was coming up behind her, knowing that she only had a few seconds to react she leapt out of the way, her _Katon_ being consumed by Mouse's as the fireball sailed passed and exploded once it hit the back wall.

Hoshiko panted as she dodged Snake's attack with his katana, her Wakizashi was lying on the floor on the other side of the room from when she had been punched. She weaved around him, jumping into the air and ducking down, avoiding getting her head sliced off. She circled around, trying to find an opening to either fetch her weapon or strike the Root member. She twisted her body to the side, almost avoiding the downward slice as the blade nicked her cheek, Hoshiko hissed in pain as she felt the blood trickle down her cheek. She suddenly realized that if she didn't kill the Root, they were going to kill her, and probably her mother. She couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't.

Could she kill fellow Konoha Shinobi? Not only was it considered treasonous but it was immoral too. These people were her comrades, could she kill them to save her mother? What sane person thought it was ok for one Konoha Shinobi to kill another, four even? Hoshiko realized that Danzo wasn't sane; he was doing this for his own twisted reason. What did he get out of her killing four of his Root members? Seeing her Mizukiri in action? There were probably a hundred different ways that they could've done this, but why this way? Hoshiko thought about what made Root special, his minions were trained from childhood, orphans taken in by him and made to be emotionless assassins, that was what Itachi had told her weeks ago.

Emotionless…

The answer came to her as she looked at the four masked Root members in the room, they didn't have an opinion on the matter because they didn't feel anything. They were practically robots, Danzo had instructed them to attack her, so they had. Danzo had ordered them to die, so they would. Was Danzo's goal to make her like them? Danzo had to know that she would fight this, she would never want to kill a comrade, was the answer to repress her emotions to do the deed. If she didn't kill them, her mother would die, and if that happened Hoshiko knew that she would in fact turn into a mindless assassin. Either way Danzo was going to win. It was either her mother, or the Root; Hoshiko didn't hesitate with her answer.

X

Hoshiko kicked off Snake, using his body as leverage as she stuck onto the nearby pillar; she watched as the four Root lined up in front of her, she glared at each of them, then turning her glare to Danzo. He was watching with an amused smile. The bastard.

Using the breathing room to her advantage, she thought back on each time her Mizukiri had activated. The first time, she had been unconscious when it had happened, but from what Itachi had told her, she had been injured and instinctively used it to preserve her own life.

The second time, she had been injured again, and she had used it to heal herself and preserve her own life.

That was it!

Hoshiko, all of a sudden, knew how she could activate her Mizukiri. She stared down Snake, and launched herself off the pillar, Snake leaped off the ground, his katana poised at the ready. They inched closer to each other; Hoshiko's silver eyes stared at Snake's dark brown from beneath his mask. They were centimeters from each other; Snake brought the katana to his front.

And plunged it right through her chest.

The katana pierced her armor, her flesh, and came out the other side, blood coating the steel as the force of his attack had them hitting the pillar that Hoshiko had been standing on as the steel stuck into the rock. Pain erupted through her like she had never felt before, her whole body was on fire, she couldn't even gasp for breath as she felt her body become pinned on the pillar. Blood spurted from her mouth, splattering Snake's mask as she could feel the life draining away from her. She would only have seconds to react.

She could feel the power; it was sitting there, in the depths of her stomach, waiting to be used. She willed it up, feeling it travel through her burning body, until she could feel the power circulating through her whole body. Her eyes snapped open, the glowing orbs an indication that she had done it as her hand reached out and grasped onto Snake's neck. Her fingers dug into the flesh of his exposed neck, she heard the Root splutter as the chakra began to slowly seep into her own body. All of this happened within three seconds.

She gripped the katana hilt, pulling the sword from her chest, she could feel the steel sliding out of her flesh but she no longer felt pain, instead, she felt alive. Her wound closed up at remarkable speed as Snake's mask fell from his face, revealing a man that Hoshiko had never seen before in her life. He was much older then her though. His withered body, once devoid of all chakra and life, dropped to the floor as Hoshiko flipped the katana around in her hand, extending it out in front of her as she stared down the remaining three in front of her.

"I'm sorry, but I will not let my mother die." She stated to them. Then she lunged for them at impossible speed.

* * *

The katana clattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the silent room as blood, dripping from the sword splashed against her sandals. Blood coated the floor around her as the smell of death hung in the air. Blood was smeared on her face and in her hair and all over her clothes as she stared down at the four bodies surrounding her. Three had been reverted to nothing but skeletons and one had been sliced in half, remnants of the fight were in the form of holes in the floor, ceiling and walls. One of the pillars had even been destroyed in the battle, the rubble scattered around the room. Hoshiko stood in the middle of the room, her eyes still glowing like a reflective moon as she surveyed the carnage. It was strange, the last time, she had felt like she had been a spectator in her own body, this time, she was fully conscious of everything that she had done, and that just made it that much worse.

A sudden pain flashed through her head as she winced, a hand flying up to her temple as she crumpled to her knees. The pain was gone as soon as it had happened as Hoshiko's hands were flat against the concrete floor as she sucked in deep breaths. She felt the power slowly fade away, it settled back in that spot, deep within her stomach as a slow clap made her raise her head.

Danzo approached her slowly, making tracks through the blood as he stopped a few feet away from her, "Well done."

"Are you satisfied now?" Hoshiko gasped out, she was on the verge of collapsing.

"Hardly." Danzo remarked.

"My…mother." Hoshiko managed to roll back onto her knees as she stared up at the Root leader.

"Will not be harmed." Danzo said as he turned his back on her. "That is…" He said, walking towards the large archway. Hoshiko felt her eyes widen in shock and fear as she felt three more chakra signatures enter the room. "If you can defeat these three with your Mizukiri. If not, then your mother dies."

Hoshiko, eyes as wide as the moon itself, spun around on her knees. She was surrounded by three more masked Root and all at one they lunged for her.

* * *

 **Hi everyone, I am so so so sorry for not updating in almost 2 months. Life has been absolutely hectic for me over January and February, it's finally settled down so hopefully you'll see some close and regular updates from now on. I was blown away with the response for last chapter! Thank you all so so much and I know it's been a while but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! After this one we'll be doing another little time skip as I want to get the ball rolling withe everything!**

 **REPLIES**

 **lizyeh2000** \- Sorry for the wait! Yep she's in Root, and after this ordeal I wonder what's going to happen to her?

 **foreveradreamerinlife** \- I'm so sorry you had to wait for this chapter after waiting on the edge of your seat! Most will be revealed very soon!

 **Dark Rose Charm** \- Yesss Danzo! Not that I like him or anything, but you know, he is the main villain and he will get his comeuppance one day. I like your theory, that would be very interesting!

 **Sara R** \- Sorry about the long wait! I'm so happy you're enjoying my story! I want them to be together as well but it's going to be a while before that happens!

 **jcwhale2380** \- Ahhh yes Danzo, the sneaky bastard. Sorry it took me forever to update! We'll find out what Itachi was thinking later on.

 **SafyrRaven** \- Thank you so much! I have worked really hard on the planning of this story and I'm really excited for how everything is going to play out in the end. Hold onto your butts folks!

 **Davina** \- I hate myself sometimes too with what I write, but this is how I love writing it! xD Angst incoming!

 **santoserimar** \- Sorry this took me a while to get out! Your review made me laugh so much xD I love Hoshiko and Sasuke's relationship as well and we will see a little more of him before the fated incident! :O

 **Again so sorry for the wait but I hope you all enjoyed and the next chapter will be out soon, I promise!**

 **Also, I changed the cover picture for the story with a picture of Hoshiko. The age is probably around the 12-14 mark for her, just so people can have a grasp on what she looks like in my head xD I do have another one that i'll change up for when she's older once we get there!**


	17. Traitors

_Traitors  
_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

 **1 Month Later.**

Her heeled boots clicked against the hard concrete as she marched down the dimly lit hallway. The lanterns hanging on the wall her only source of light as she tossed a look over her shoulder to see her two comrades following her closely. With an annoyed click of her tongue she turned her head and her silvery eyes landed on the door she was heading to. When she reached it, she didn't bother knocking as she gripped the handle and yanked the sliding door so hard that it rattled when it smacked the other side. She could feel the disapproving glare from the two Root behind her but she didn't care what they thought. It was the middle of the night and she had just returned from a three day long mission, with only having seven hours of sleep over the three-day period. Oh yeah, and she was pissed.

"Danzo!" Hoshiko barked at the old man who was calmly sitting at his table. He inclined his head just as she slammed her hands down onto the wood, shaking the table and quaking the cup of cold tea by his side.

"You have returned." Danzo stated obviously.

"Barely." Hoshiko snapped at him. "You and I have very different definitions of the word 'simple'."

Danzo chuckled boldly, "I see the dignitary gave you a much harder time to kill."

"He had his own personal guard of Shinobi lying in wait for us. You're lucky I managed to get your men out alive."

With that, Danzo's gaze turned to the two Root members, he could see their clothes ripped and that if he didn't dismiss them soon they were probably about to drop dead on the floor. If they did, Danzo would kill them himself, none of his Root would be so weak.

"We faced fifty Kiri Shinobi. All for your stupid cause!"

"The protection of Konoha is my main concern." Danzo said, facing her again. "He had been sprouting propaganda about this village, now that he is gone the threats will cease and a raid has no doubt been adverted."

"And if we were killed in the process?"

Danzo gave her a leering smirk, "Well, you weren't, so there is no need to dwell on the past."

The look on Danzo's face made something snap within Hoshiko. Over the past month she had been tortured, beaten and pushed to the very edge of her sanity, she was surprised that she was alive after all the experiments and 'training' that Danzo had put her through over the weeks. So seeing the smile on his face as he calmly spoke about her life made her snap. In a burst of rage, that had the Root around the room bracing for an attack from her, Hoshiko lashed out with her leg, kicking the table as it went sailing across the room, smashing the tea cup that had been on it and breaking against the wall, falling into splinters. There was silence within the room as the Root waiting on baited breath for Danzo's orders, but they knew if they tried to take her down, they'd all die, and Danzo knew this too.

Feeling like she had gotten something out of her system, Hoshiko glared at Danzo one final time before she spun around on her heel and stormed out of the room, sliding the shoji door shut with such force that it came off the tracks.

"Danzo-sama…" One of the Root behind the leader spoke softly, asking without asking what they should do about her.

"Leave her be." Danzo said simply. "I've grown quite used to her moods as of late. This wasn't the worst I have seen."

"She has grown more powerful." The Root stated.

 _And angry_ , Danzo thought to himself. "Humph. That means she is finally ready."

"Ready for what?" The same Root spoke.

"Her final test."

 **X**

Hoshiko reached her room in record time. She slammed the door shut behind her and glanced around her blank room. She hated this room. She hated this place. She hated Danzo. She stripped off her armor quickly, letting it drop to the ground at her feet as she tossed the porcelain mask onto the bed as she collapsed onto it backwards. She could still feel the anger coursing through her veins as she thought back on her argument with Danzo. His smirking face only fueled her anger as she pushed herself up on the bed. Her gaze was caught at her kunai pouch as she knelt down on the ground and fetched one of the weapons out of it. She rose to her feet, and shuffling over to the wall next to the door, where, when opened would be completely covered by it. She reached up and dragged the kunai down on the stone in a short line three times, evenly spaced to the next one as she sighed and dropped her hand.

 _Thirty-five. Thirty-five days I've been forced to stay here,_ she thought to herself bitterly. Over a month since she had come to Danzo, over a month since she had seen anyone from her old life, the only contact she had was with Danzo and the stoic Root who put up as much conversation as a dead slug.

She missed her mother. She had never been away from her for this long, she wondered how she was doing, did she miss her? Hoshiko had to mentally slap herself; of course her mother missed her. She had to stop herself from thinking about her, because whenever she did, she always became upset, and Danzo would probably put her through another one of his torture sessions if he found out again.

She washed up for bed and was thankful she was able to sleep on a mattress tonight, even if it did feel like rocks under her back. She woke up in the morning to someone knocking on her door. She grumbled under her breath. It had taken the complex a whole two days to realize that unless you wanted your body punted to the other side of Konoha, you should _not_ wake Hoshiko up under any circumstances unless she was on a mission. The repercussions were dire, and whoever was pounding on her door when she was this tired was about to be in a whole new world of pain.

She yanked open the door, glaring with all the hate she could muster in her tired body as her eyes narrowed at the masked man standing in front of her. She had come to know him as Danzo's right hand man. The Root before her was his personal guard and when Danzo left the complex, he'd go too. His spikey light brown hair stood up at odd angles on his head, and he was extremely tall, almost three heads taller then Hoshiko, not that surprising as Hoshiko was tiny for her age.

"Danzo-sama wants to see you, Tenshi." Hoshiko could hear the sneer on his face when he said the name that had been given to her. Tenshi meant _angel._ It was supposed to be a play on word seeing as Hoshiko was far, far from being an angel, and Danzo thought it was fitting with her polar opposite appearance and attitude. She really did hate him.

"If Danzo wants to see me. He can come get me himself." Hoshiko snapped back, she stepped back further into the room, intent on slamming the door in his face when he stepped closer, his hand gripping the wood.

"It wasn't a request." He said, his voice dangerously low. Hoshiko knew that this man, even though he barely showed emotion on the outside, could still show it with his voice; and she knew that she was getting on everyone's nerves. She was Danzo's favorite and got away with everything, even murdering seven of their best. Danzo never enforced the no emotion rule on her, no one could figure out why. Which meant that they all had to deal with Hoshiko's constant outbursts and rages nearly every single day.

"It never is with him." Hoshiko hissed to the Root. There was a stare down between them. Hoshiko could barely make out the light blue colour of his eyes as they held each other's gazes for what seemed like hours. It wasn't until the Root backed up, turning on his heel.

"You have ten minutes." He ordered, turning his face slightly to the side, not that Hoshiko would be able to see his expression anyway. With a frustrated sigh she slammed her door shut. She turned and leaned against the wood, feeling the rough surface against her back as she slowly slid down the door until she hit the floor.

* * *

Exactly ten minutes later Hoshiko was knocking on the shoji door that had been repaired and put back on the tracks from the previous night's encounter. "Enter," came the familiar monotone voice of Danzo as Hoshiko opened the door and entered the room. Her eyes quickly glanced around the room, seeing no evidence of her violent outburst from last night. A new table was even in the center of the room, not that it surprised her. Danzo was seated at the back of the room; in the wooden armchair that he had occupied the night she had come to him for information. She also realized that none of his Root were present in the room, he must really trust her self control right now.

"You wanted to see me." Hoshiko drawled lazily. Folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall.

Danzo nodded once, he reached over the chair and picked up the beige folder and extended his hand out to her. Hoshiko eyed the folder carefully as she collected it from him. "What's this?" She asked.

"Your assignment." He said simply.

Giving Danzo a skeptical look, Hoshiko tore open the folder and pulled out the first page. Her eyes were drawn to the picture as they widened, she glared up at Danzo, "Is this a joke?"

Danzo remained stoic, "Do I look like I'm laughing?"

She held back the comment she wanted to make about him and instead shoved the paper back into the folder, "I refuse. I don't care what it is, I'm not doing it." She said stubbornly.

"You cannot refuse."

"Watch me," she snapped back.

Danzo's face darkened and Hoshiko felt that same fear she felt a long time ago, the one that always subconsciously warned her about him. She felt her heart jump as Danzo's uncovered eye bore into her own, "Your assignment is tracking and reporting on Uchiha Itachi's whereabouts."

"Why?" Hoshiko questioned.

Danzo inclined his head, motioning to the folder as she sighed and took all the paper out, flicking through it and scanning over the words. "I believe that Uchiha Itachi is planning a Coup d'état."

 **X**

"Dammit, we're running out of time." Shisui sighed. He stood facing the Nakano waterfall, his shoulders hunched and his long arms folded. Itachi stood a few feet back, his expression stoic as he continued to stare at the black back of his cousin.

"We managed to stall for this entire month." Itachi spoke softly.

"Yeah, but they're getting impatient. They've had enough, Itachi. Whenever they are going to do this, it's going to be soon." Shisui exhaled loudly, tilting his head up to the burning sky. "We've tried everything."

There was a moment of silence before Itachi spoke, "I convinced the Hokage to meet with my Otou-san again. Hopefully the meeting they have might be able to buy us another week at most."

"That's good." Shisui nodded. "You think it'll work?" He asked, turning around to face him.

Itachi shook his head, "The unrest in the Uchiha is too strong. If my Otou-san backs down…"

"Yeah…" Shisui agreed, the sentence not needing to be finished. They both knew what would happen if Fugaku backed down.

"Did you receive any news from your contact?" Itachi asked Shisui suddenly. Shisui rubbed the back of his head, he looked away, concerned at sharing the information he had but decided that Itachi needed to hear it.

"Yeah, the guy I know who knows a guy in Root said that Danzo's been keeping her pretty close. He's been training her personally. Sent her out on a mission the other day, said she killed fifty Kiri Shinobi by herself…" Shisui relayed the information to Itachi as he watched the younger Uchiha's expression shift slightly. He saw the slight tensing of his jaw. "That's not all—he mentioned briefly that the day she arrived, seven of Danzo's best went missing. It was never directly confirmed but he suspected that Danzo had her kill them as part of her initiation or something."

Itachi turned away from him, part of his hair obscuring his face. Shisui waited for him to do anything, but Itachi stood still as stone.

"Itachi…" Shisui said kindly, "You couldn't have known…at least…at least we know that Danzo wants her for something—he wont hurt her."

Itachi still didn't reply to Shisui, and he didn't expect him too, Shisui knew the pain his cousin must be in. He had forced away his friend to protect her, and now…now she was probably in a worse position then before. Shisui saw the frustrated and broken look on his friends face as he idly touched the skin by his eye.

 _Kotoamatsukami_.

If he used that and stopped the coup then everything could go back to the way it was. Itachi could free Hoshiko from Danzo's grasp and they could be together again. Shisui wasn't stupid; ever since that day when Itachi had forced her away he had been a wreck. It had killed him to say those things to her; Shisui had been waiting nearby and had heard everything he said to her. He would never be able to get her voice out of his head as she begged him to stop.

' _I'm your friend, Itachi!'_

' _You can't mean that…'_

Hoshiko had been heartbroken, he had heard it in her voice; Shisui's own heart had broken for her too on that day. But there was one more heart that ached. Itachi had refused to speak to him for two days after he sent Hoshiko away, and Shisui understood why. The question that Shisui asked himself was when? When did Itachi's feelings for her change? He had never admitted anything out loud, he wasn't that kind of person; but Shisui saw it in the way he stared at her when she wasn't looking. The proud look in his eyes after they sparred together. When he sometimes found his cousin sitting on her rooftop, and when he watched Sasuke and Hoshiko bicker like siblings. There was a gentle look in his eyes when he watched her, it was the way he looked at his little brother, but different. He looked at Sasuke like he wanted to protect him fiercely, forever.

He looked at Hoshiko like he was a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.

Shisui furrowed his brow, his right eye shutting as his fingers gently smoothed over his eyelid. He would stop the clan, he would use his power to do it, so that he could save the village, save their clan…and more importantly, save Itachi from his regrets.

* * *

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hoshiko demanded, her eyes narrowed as her fists balled up at her side. "Itachi would never…!"

Danzo regarded her coolly as he stood from the chair, the furniture creaking as he rose up. He took slow and deliberate steps towards her; "I have reason to believe that he has been plotting with another, conspiring against this village and his own clan to usurp the Hokage."

"That's insane!" Hoshiko said in outrage. "He loves this village, he told me himself! Why would he want to do this?"

Danzo ignored her question, asking one of his own, "You tell me. In the days that you saw him, was there anything strange or odd with him?"

"No he—!" She stopped. The words died in her throat. Her eyes became wide as she breathed in a shuddering breath. She met Danzo's gaze, her mind shooting back to over a month ago. Itachi sending her away, the dark and dangerous look in his eyes. The way he had smacked her hand away from him sent shivers down her spine and his expression had drove full-fledged fear into her heart. It was a side she had never seen from him, and now, looking at Danzo, she understood why.

"From your silence I assume there is something." Danzo said, smirking.

Hoshiko looked down at the papers in her hands, it was all the information they had on Itachi, it went into great detail about his academy days, his early promotions, everything, "He…" her voice was quiet, "Why?"

"Why else? Power." Danzo stated.

Hoshiko didn't want to believe it, Itachi couldn't…he wouldn't…but everything was there. The way he had been acting lately, his rage at her. "You said…there was another, someone helping him. Who?" Her voice was timid, she had asked the question but she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Danzo didn't miss a beat, "Uchiha Shisui." Hoshiko's eyes slid shut in grief. "The two have been spotted having secret meetings. They have isolated themselves from the clan. Meeting in secret to discuss their plans for a coup. It's no wonder, those two are the most powerful Uchiha as of now."

"Why me?" Hoshiko asked, opening her eyes again. She thought back on her memories. It was true; she could remember catching Itachi and Shisui together sometimes, talking quietly to one another, never telling her the full story. Other times they would make excuses to her, saying they were going to a clan meeting. Hoshiko had once followed them out of curiosity; they led her to the Nakano waterfall where they had talked for hours about something she couldn't hear.

"You know them." Danzo explained. "You know how they think, how they act, how they fight. I need someone to protect this village. Can you do this?"

"Maybe if I just talked to them! I can help them see reason!"

"No." Danzo said sharply, causing Hoshiko to flinch. "If they find out that they are being watched they will kill you."

Hoshiko's breath got caught in her throat. She didn't want to believe that that would happen to her, this was Itachi and Shisui, they had been her friends for years, they helped and protected her on numerous occasions. They wouldn't hurt her. And yet there was a voice in the back of her head telling her that they would.

"The Hokage? Surely he must know, we can ask him to talk to them, they'll listen to him." Hoshiko pleaded.

"The Hokage does not believe, I have already tried. We must settle this ourselves."

"Settle? You mean…" she let the unfinished question hang in the air. A heavy feeling settled in her gut.

Danzo turned his back on her; Hoshiko watched with curious eyes as he appeared to be unwrapping the bandage on his head, "Your mission is to tail Uchiha Itachi. Follow him and report back to me everyday on where he has been, who he spoke to and anything suspicious. Do not let him discover you."

With a grim look on her face, Hoshiko nodded, "Hai."

"And one more thing." Danzo said as he slowly began to turn his body back to face her. When Danzo faced her one again, Hoshiko saw a flash of red and a calm feeling washed over her. Danzo walked the three steps to her as she stood, swaying slightly on the spot. He reached out and grasped her chin, tilting her head up so that her eyes looked directly into his normally concealed stolen Sharingan, "You will tell no one expect for me of this mission. Do you understand?" He said, the tomoe in his crimson eye swirling as he used a light Genjutsu on her, it was one that could compel a person and would be undetectable unless the person knew they were under it. Even a powerful Sharingan user wouldn't detect it unless they knew what they were looking for.

"Hai." Hoshiko replied.

 **X**

Hoshiko shook her head, her black hair falling into her eyes as she scanned the empty room. She frowned, rubbing her forehead. Where was Danzo? Hadn't he been here a second ago? Her eyes looked to the floor, where she saw the scattered sheets of paper that she had obviously dropped in her confused state. Itachi's stoic face stared up at her from the paper as she crouched down, reaching out for it as she took it into her hands. She slowly stood, her eyes gazing over his face as she sighed.

 _Why, Itachi? Why would you do this? Don't you love the village?_

It didn't take her long to collect her gear before Hoshiko was leaping out of the complex. She had been cooped up for too long in the dark place, except for the one lone mission she had returned from last night. Danzo hadn't let her leave the Root headquarters for anything, and now she could freely go around the village once more, well sort of.

Her first stop was her home, it was still early and Hoshiko knew that her mother wouldn't have left for her job yet, it would be close, but she should catch her just as she was leaving. Her smile was broad as she scaled up the wall and pried open her bedroom window, slipping through quietly. She could hear sounds from the kitchen and sighed in relief, she hadn't left yet. Hoshiko opened her door, the sound alerting her mother to someone being in the house.

"Hoshiko?" Hiroka called, her voice muffled through the hallway.

Hoshiko emerged into the kitchen, "I'm home, Okaa-san." Hoshiko said softly as Hiroka released a heavy sigh of relief. She stepped towards her, wanting to hug her, but thought back to the last time they had spoken; it had ended in an argument between them. Hoshiko, deciding that it was stupid and horrible for her to have left without saying a proper goodbye to her mother, reached her in three steps and threw her arms around her. "I'm sorry, I was mean to you when I shouldn't have been. I missed you so much."

Hiroka squeezed her daughter tightly, they were of the same height, but somehow Hoshiko had managed to place herself directly under her chin, "It's ok. I'm just glad you're safe."

Safe wouldn't be the word Hoshiko would've used to describe her situation, she was stuck firmly between a rock and a hard place, a very hard place. Thinking back on everything that had happened to her over the past month, she was just thankful to see her mother alive and healthy. After all, she had agreed to stay with Danzo on the condition that he wouldn't harm her.

Hiroka suddenly jerked away, her head looking over at the clock, "Oh no. I'm going to be late for work." She said, quickly grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder as Hoshiko watched her silently. "Will you be home tonight?" Hiroka asked as she reached out and touched Hoshiko's cheek with the palm of her hand.

Hoshiko sighed into the feeling, she had missed her mother more then she could put into words. Hoshiko shrugged, "I'm not sure. There's something I have to do, but I wont be far."

Hiroka gave her a final smile before leaving the home.

* * *

It didn't take her long to find him. She perched in a tree, far enough away that he wouldn't sense her if he activated his Sharingan but close enough so that she could watch him and see what he was doing. She shifted on the thick branch. The Jounin vest that she had on was a lot more bulky and heavy then her normal armor. She thought it would be best, if she were in fact caught, that she be wearing the green jacket instead of her armor. It was a lot less threatening and she could make up some excuse about being there. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with her forehead protector tied on the top of her head. She wore a simple navy blue long sleeved shirt under the jacket and her long black pants and shin high boots. It was the outfit she had worn before she joined ANBU. Hoshiko sighed; it felt like years ago, not months since her whole life had been thrown upside down.

Focusing back on her mission she expanded her chakra senses while also keeping herself completely masked, over the month Danzo had her practicing this ability until she passed out, making sure that not even a bat would be able to sense her presence. She had been pretty good before with it, but now she was excellent. She located Itachi's chakra signature, and she was surprised to see that he wasn't alone. She assumed it to be Shisui, but further prodding she found that the chakra levels weren't even close to Shisui. And besides, she recognized the signature anyway. It was Sasuke.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke's loud whine echoed in the forest clearing. "You've had your break. Now it's time to practice with me!"

She couldn't hear the reply as Itachi's voice was too quiet but she could see him moving around the clearing. It was then that she realized the clearing was the one with all of the targets, the one where Itachi had trained her years ago. She felt the feeling of betrayal again. Had she been so oblivious to his intentions all this time? She was having a hard time accepting the fact that Itachi and Shisui could be traitors, but as she thought about it more, it was starting to make more sense to her. The file that Danzo had given her had gone into depth about how many meetings they had been spotted having, how Itachi and sometimes Shisui had abandoned clan meetings altogether.

Hoshiko sighed; she would continue this mission. If it turned out to be wrong, then no harm done and she could forget about this ever happening, but if it turned out to be true, and Itachi and Shisui were in fact planning a Coup d'état against the village, she would be the one to personally stop them, no matter the cost.

* * *

 **Well, I told you I would have another chapter out soon! And wowee! So did any of you see this coming? So I just want to explain why it was so easy for Hoshiko to jump on board with the whole Itachi traitor thing. I referenced through the chapter that over the month she spent with Danzo, he had put her through torture sessions and had trained her until she passed out. She never got to go outside, only for a mission where she killed ninja's. During the story I will go back in depth through flashbacks about what she actually went through but not yet, but she went through not only physical beatings but emotional one's too, as you can tell with her violent outburst. Anyway, she is extremely fragile, her mind is open to manipulation and Danzo is exploiting that because he's an actual bastard from hell.**

 **Also, he used his Sharingan on her just to make sure that she wouldn't go telling anyone, obviously Danzo needs to keep this a secret as we all know that Itachi and Shisui are innocent in all of this. There's a reason for this which I wont be sharing, you'll just have to wait and find out! ;)**

 **And I hope I satisfied you all with a little insight into what Itachi was really thinking when he sent her away, it wasn't from his perspective but from Shisui's, I thought it was cute but really, we all knew that Itachi had lied to her face about not wanting her around, now he just created a ginormous clusterfuck...poor Itachi...**

 **REPLIES**

 **Me And Not You** 1001 - Well I wouldn't say he's trying to kill her...but it's pretty close. He was literally testing her abilities and pushing her to see how far she could go. But it could backfire in the long run I guess, what's that saying about cornering an animal or something? Eh I can't remember but yeah like that! xD The question is what CAN he do about it? ;)

 **StarshineRose** 18 - I hope he does something too, we shall see! Thank you!

 **Dark Rose Charm** \- Wow. That review had my head reeling! I love your theory, some aspects are similar to what I have planned but everything will be revealed!

 **santoserimar** \- Hahaha I feel bad about giggling to myself about your review but your reaction is literally me when I started writing this story and planning everything out xD A kiss scene between them? We shall see, I do have a few things planned for them but we shall seeeee! Yeah Danzo's still a bastard, no change here. Thank you!

 **Sara R** \- Thank you! Yes there are a variety of words I would use to describe Danzo...

 **Davina** \- I know it was ages, but thankfully I think it's only been a week or something since my last update! Told you I would be getting another one out. Thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me to hear it! I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter and all the scene's in it. And yeah, a lot of time and energy has been put into this story, so many hours of research into everything *shudders* but hopefully it'll all be worth it in the end! Well if you cried at that, be prepared for the next few chapters...


	18. Forgive me

_Forgive me..._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Her silver eyes, shadowed by her mask narrowed slightly as she watched the entire Uchiha clan leave the Nakano Shrine. She was perched high up in an oak tree, the leaves brushing against her arms and legs. She recognized some of the clansmen as they spoke in hushed whispers; nearly all had furrowed brows and the aura of unpleasantness surrounding them.

Hoshiko felt her heart jump slightly when a figure stepped out from shadows of the shrine. It was Itachi. From her spot she could make out his onyx black eyes staring dead ahead. His shoulders were tense as he approached the stairs and began to make his way down them, his mother by his side. She could see the perpetual frown on his face as she recognized the look of his. He was trying to ignore everyone around him, even his own mother.

Her hand tightened on the branch, creaking the wood. She bit down on her lip painfully, the taste of metallic in her mouth. It didn't escape Hoshiko's knowledge that Shisui hadn't been present at this clan meeting; she hadn't seen him enter after she got here and he hadn't exited. She decided to wait; maybe Shisui was still inside and had arrived early to the meeting of the Uchiha clan.

Hoshiko waited a few more minutes, but soon realized that Shisui probably hadn't attended the meeting even though Itachi did. She turned, intending to move off when she heard a voices coming from the shrine. She was too far away to hear what they were saying but she could see them.

One was Uchiha Fugaku.

The other was the Hokage.

Her dark brows furrowed from behind her mask, wondering why the Hokage would be meeting with Fugaku at this time of night, and here of all places. Were they discussing Itachi and Shisui? The notion had her heart racing once more. She needed to get closer; she had to hear what they were talking about. Did they know? Were they planning to do something? In her excitement to know more, she shifted her weight on the branch, causing the thin branch she was standing on to crack. She gasped quietly, cursing herself as she teleported away.

 **X**

"Anything new to report?" Danzo asked Hoshiko later that night when she arrived at the Root headquarters.

Hoshiko knelt at the entrance of the room, "Uchiha Itachi attended a clan meeting tonight. Uchiha Shisui did not attend."

"Anything else?"

His question hung in the air as Hoshiko tried to decide whether or not to tell him about what she saw with Fugaku and the Hokage. It wasn't directly related to her Itachi mission but she felt like there could be some connection. "I saw the Hokage meeting with Uchiha Fugaku after the clan left. I couldn't get close enough to hear what they were saying." Hoshiko lifted her eyes slowly, shocked to see the mild surprise on Danzo's face. Danzo leant forwards in his wooden chair, clasping his hands together under his chin.

"Is it possible that they know? You said you spoke to the Hokage about this matter, what if they're discussing Itachi?"

"Impossible," Danzo grumbled. "If the Hokage believed, he would've already stopped this nonsense by now."

"…I understand." Hoshiko said softly.

"Is there anything else to report?" Danzo asked her, reaching over to his table and picking up a scroll and reading over it.

"No. Nothing else."

"Then you are dismissed."

* * *

The next night, after reporting to Danzo that Itachi had left on a mission from his ANBU superior, Hoshiko sat on her bedroom floor. Her legs curled up to her chest with her chin resting atop them. On the floor to her right was the file Danzo had given her about Itachi. She kept reading over the same information, hoping that something would jump out at her; telling her just when everything had changed.

"Hoshiko?" her mothers voice called, muffled by the door. "Sasuke-kun is at the door. Would you like me to send him away?"

Hoshiko smirked. She really loved her mother. "No, it's ok." Hoshiko tucked the file under her pillow and padded over to the door. She opened it up and was greeted by her mother.

"He looks upset, be nice to him." Hiroka warned her daughter with a pointed look. Hoshiko rolled her eyes and made her way to the entrance of the house. Opening up the door her grey eyes fell on Sasuke who was crouched on the steps leading up to her house.

"What are you doing here, _kusogaki_?" Hoshiko asked the dark haired boy. "It's late."

Sasuke pouted at the nickname, rising up on his feet and crossing his arm grumpily, "I didn't know where else to go."

Hoshiko's eyes softened, even if her and Itachi were at war right now; and Sasuke often made her want to bash her head against the wall, she still had a soft spot for the child. In her bare feet, she stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her. Sasuke watched with wide eyes as Hoshiko sat down on the steps, beckoning him to do the same. He settled beside her as Hoshiko glanced over at him, "So, what's so bad that you had to sneak out of your house in the middle of the night for?"

Sasuke's face lowered, "Okaa-san and Otou-san were fighting."

"Why didn't you go to Itachi about this?"

"He's on a mission," stated Sasuke.

Hoshiko mentally slapped herself; of course she knew that Itachi was on a mission. She had given Danzo her report not three hours ago. Some spy she was.

"They've fought before, but never like this," Sasuke sighed. "Okaa-san was really angry about something."

"I hope you didn't eavesdrop," Hoshiko scolded him.

Sasuke shook his head violently, worried that the girl would go and tell his parents that he _had_ in fact been eavesdropping on them, "No! I heard my name, and Nii-san's name a few times…"

"I'm sure it's nothing, Sasuke." Hoshiko said reassuringly. "Parents fight all the time. They'll make up, don't worry."

"Will you and Nii-san?"

The question caught Hoshiko off guard, she froze for a second before regaining her composure, "It's…complicated between us, Sasuke."

"Then un-complicate it!" he exclaimed, his dark eyes wide and full of hope. "It's no fun not having you around anymore! Nii-san's always quiet and brooding and Shisui-san always takes him away for 'training'." Sasuke seemed to mock Shisui's voice, causing Hoshiko to crack a smile.

"I wish things could go back to the way they were, Sasuke…" Hoshiko said kindly, resting her hand atop his shoulder. "But I don't think they will…not anymore."

"But you and Nii-san were supposed to…" Sasuke blurted out, but forced himself to stop as his cheeks flushed red.

"Supposed to what?" Hoshiko pressed him, poking him gently in the side.

Sasuke swatted her hand away, and if possible his face was still growing redder, "Nothing."

Hoshiko laughed, "Come on, Sasuke!"

"Not saying."

"You're insufferable," Hoshiko said with a loud sigh.

"I learnt it from you."

Hoshiko wasn't going to argue with that, he was probably right anyway. She finally decided that it was late enough and stood up from the steps, "Right, let's take you home. I bet your Okaa-san is worried about you."

"I don't want to go home yet." Sasuke pouted.

"Stop being a spoiled brat." Hoshiko snapped at him.

Sasuke glowered at her, "I'm not! I don't want to go back yet."

Hoshiko studied his expression. She could tell that he was still upset about hearing his parents fight. She could remember one instance when her parents had gotten into a huge fight and she had run away for a few hours. Sasuke was a lot like her when she was his age.

"Fine. I want to show you something anyway, but first I'm getting you a jacket." She said, feeling the chilly night air and noticing the slight shiver that Sasuke had every few minutes. "Wait here." She instructed, darting back into her house.

 **X**

Hoshiko emerged a few minutes later with her shoes on her feet and one of her black winter jackets. Sasuke gave a small protest but couldn't do much as the older and stronger girl shoved it onto his small body. Hoshiko laughed at him, seeing how the jacket dwarfed him and stopped at his knees. She then moved in front of him and crouched down, "Ok, get on."

"Why?" Sasuke questioned, still moody from being manhandled by her.

She gave him a glare, "Because it'll be quicker and I'm not waiting for you to catch up with me."

Sasuke didn't argue as he jumped onto her back, jolting the girl as she growled at him in annoyance. When Sasuke was comfortable against her back she leapt up onto the roofs and dashed across Konoha.

She landed gracefully on top of the Sandaime Hokage's stone face, letting Sasuke slide off her back as the child rushed to the edge and gazed across the village, "What are we doing here?" he asked her.

Hoshiko let out a groan as she flopped down onto the stone, pressing her back against the cool rock, "This is where I come to think. Come lie down, Sasuke."

"Why?"

"Just do it," she snapped.

"No, you'll hit me."

"I'm going to hit you if you don't do what I say, _kusogaki_."

She heard Sasuke scuttle across the rock as he appeared in her peripheral vision. He lay down, right next to her as his arm brushed up against hers, "Now what?"

Hoshiko sighed in annoyance; maybe it had been a stupid idea to bring him here. She should've just dragged his bony ass back to his home. "Now you shut up and think."

"About what?"

"About…anything," Hoshiko sighed sadly. After a moment of silence she spoke again, "Sometimes I just come up here to stare at the stars."

Sasuke turned his head away from her as he gazed up at the night sky. Without the light obstruction from the village below, he could see the billions of stars. Clusters of milky white dotted across the sky.

"That's kind of ironic, isn't it?" Sasuke muttered.

Hoshiko laughed, a grin forming on her face as her silvery eyes darted all over the open sky, "Yeah, I guess it is." They were referring to the fact that Hoshiko's name literally meant _Star-child_.

"Ne, Hoshiko?"

"Hmm?"

Sasuke paused. "Where's you Otou-san? I've never seen him around."

"He died."

"Oh," Sasuke muttered quietly. "Was he a Shinobi?"

Hoshiko shook her head gently, "No, but he worked for the ANBU intelligence unit as a civilian."

Sasuke fell silent as Hoshiko continued to stare up at the night sky. She tried counting them but lost it around the seventy mark when she heard soft snoring coming from her left. "Sasuke?" she hissed his name softly. Hoshiko turned her head, a smirk on her face as she saw Sasuke's peaceful smile as he slept.

Hoshiko chuckled to herself as she sat up. She knelt over Sasuke and pulled his light little body into her arms and cradled him to her chest. Sasuke shifted in her arms, resting his head against her shoulder as she teleported off the monument.

* * *

Hoshiko managed to knock on the shoji door with her elbow, seeing as Sasuke was being dead weight in her arms. The little tyke was still out cold. The door was opened three seconds later, a frantic Mikoto sighing in relief when she saw Sasuke in the teens arms.

"Oh, thank goodness he's ok." Mikoto said, holding her hands tightly to her chest. "Nearly half the clan is looking for him." Mikoto stepped aside so that Hoshiko could enter the home that she had been in dozens of times before. It felt surreal to her, being back in the Uchiha mansion after Itachi ordering her away. "Where did you find him?" Mikoto asked, running her hand over Sasuke's warm cheek.

"He found me, Mikoto-san. I would have brought him home straight away…but he wanted to talk first. Sorry for making you worry," Hoshiko apologized, waiting for the scolding for keeping her youngest son away from home late at night. Instead, Mikoto looked at her in understanding.

"I assumed he heard our fight. I don't blame him; he's too much like me in that sense. Would you please take him upstairs? I have to go find Fugaku and let him know that Sasuke is safe."

Mikoto was already half way out the door when Hoshiko replied, "Of course." Mikoto disappeared into the night. Hoshiko managed to slip her sandals off without the use of her hands as she walked the familiar route upstairs and to Sasuke's room at the end of the hall.

His room was neat and tidy, not that she didn't expect anything less from an Uchiha. Hoshiko set Sasuke down on his bed, pulling the covers over him as he finally stirred, "Nii-san?" His eyes didn't open but his hand felt around for something on the covers.

"Go back to sleep, Sasuke." Hoshiko whispered. It was like magic, Sasuke rolled over and was out cold once more. She wished she had the ability to fall asleep that quickly. Hoshiko backed out of the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. She walked silently along the wooden floorboards, her eyes glancing at the familiar photo's lining the walls of the head Uchiha family.

She paused outside of a room, the door closed. She bit her lip anxiously and tried to think rationally about what she was about to do. Hoshiko expanded her chakra senses. Mikoto was moving to the other side of the Uchiha compound, locating Fugaku, and there was no one else was in the house except for the sleeping Sasuke. Her eyes hardened as she made a decision and gripped the door handle, opening up the door to Itachi's bedroom and stepping inside.

The room was dark and hard to see but Hoshiko didn't reach for the light switch. No one could know that someone was in Itachi's room while he was away on a mission. She felt like an intruder, even though she had been in his room countless times. This time was much, much different. She would never have done this in a normal situation, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to try and find any information concerning the Coup that he was planning. That was if he kept any information about it in his room. She went to his desk first. It was stupidly neat, two pens lined up perfectly and a sheet of paper placed in the middle of the desk. The ornamental kunai sat perfectly on the corner of the desk. She reached out to touch it, but was suddenly hit with a memory from months ago:

" _Please don't drop that."_

" _I wont," she said defensively, "I'm not a child."_

" _Could've fooled me," Itachi muttered._

She withdrew her hand, smiling sadly at the memory as she gently opened the desk draw, careful not to jostle anything inside it. If there was one person who would be able to tell if someone had opened up a draw, it would be Itachi. She shut it when nothing of interest jumped out at her. Sighing heavily, and ignoring the little voice in her head telling her that what she was doing was so wrong, Hoshiko spotted his clothes drawers.

 _If I were going to hide something, I'd definitely put it in my underwear draw._ She hurried over to the drawers, checking her surroundings once more just incase Mikoto and Fugaku came home. She'd hate to think what would happen to her if Fugaku found her snooping around in Itachi's room, and in his underwear draw no less. The first draw she opened was indeed Itachi's underwear. Her cheeks reddened as she pressed down on the fabric, trying to feel for any foreign objects that Itachi may have hidden away. She went through all the drawers, cursing in her head when she found nothing again.

"Dammit," she hissed under her breath. She walked to the other side of the room when something flashed out of the corner of her eye. Stopping and turning, Hoshiko's eyes settled on something on the floor under his bed. The moonlight from the window had shined on it at the right angle. She hurried over to it, dropping to her knees and pulling the small object out from under the bed.

Her eyes widened. She knew what the object was.

* * *

 _It was the winter before Hoshiko had taken her ANBU exam; the winter festival was in full swing tonight. Villagers walked around the streets in large coats, drinking hot chocolate and playing games. Hoshiko was rugged up in her black winter jacket, a emerald green scarf wrapped around her neck with her long ebony hair falling around her face. Itachi and Shisui both wore the same outfit, their usual black Uchiha shirts but with arm warmers and black scarfs wrapped around their necks._

" _Itachi-baka, hurry up!" Shisui shouted from ahead, his arm waving madly in the air._

" _I will never forgive you for telling him that name." Itachi grumbled to the small girl next to him. She innocently clasped her hands behind her back._

" _Don't know what you're talking about." He sent her a mock glare as Hoshiko grinned up at him, causing him to roll his eyes ever so slightly._

" _Hoshiko-chan! Stop slowing him down and both of you hurry up!"_

" _We're coming!" Hoshiko yelled back to the older teen. She tugged on Itachi's arm warmer, pulling him behind her as they trudged through the thin snow that was coating the ground._

 _They laughed with each other the entire night, playing the stall games that some vendors had set up and eating warm food that filled their bellies. They emerged from the food stall with dango sticks in hand as Hoshiko noticed the small white flakes falling from the sky, "It's snowing!"_

 _With her free hand she reached up and let a few melt against her warm palm. "It's going to be a blizzard soon." Shisui mused as he munched on his sweet. He looked down the street when something caught his eyes. "Hey! Let's do that!" He exclaimed, pointing to the man taking photos of couples and friends._

" _No way." Hoshiko grumbled._

" _No." Itachi echoed._

" _Come on!" Shisui whined with a grin. He finished the rest of his dango and grabbed onto one of their arms and pulled them along behind them, "We've never had a photo with the three of us together."_

" _I hate photo's." Hoshiko said stubbornly._

" _Aa."_

 _Shisui sighed, his expression blank as he looked over his shoulder at the two younger teens, "You two are insufferable."_

 _They arrived at the vendor as he finished with the group of four friends as they giggled at their photo and scurried off. Shisui walked up to the man, "One photo please!"_

" _Thirty ryō."_

" _Thirty!" Shisui exclaimed. His head dropped to his chin. "I only have ten left…" Hoshiko, feeling compassionate, stepped up to the vendor and handed over her thirty ryō. Shisui grinned, latching his body against hers, "Hoshiko-chan! That's so nice of you!"_

 _She gave him a blank look; "I only did it because you would probably sulk the rest of the night if we didn't."_

" _You can stand in the middle!" Shisui continued on, ignoring her statement as he pulled her to the designated spot. Shisui glared over his shoulder at the Uchiha heir who hadn't made a move to join them. "Oi, get your useless ass over here, Itachi-baka. Are you really gonna be a stubborn ass when darling Hoshiko-chan paid for this?"_

 _Itachi remained impassive as he came and stood next to Hoshiko, the girl had her arms crossed tightly over her chest as Shisui beamed at him, a few snowflakes dropping onto his hair._

" _Ready?" the cameraman asked._

 _Shisui gave him a thumbs up as he quickly threw his arms around both Itachi and Hoshiko's shoulders, lowering his head between them as he grinned at the camera._

" _You better be smiling, Itachi-baka…" Shisui warned through gritted teeth._

* * *

She held that very picture in her hands. She remembered that Shisui had insisted that she keep it because she had paid for it, but she had given it to Shisui anyway. He was the one who had wanted the photo anyway. So why was it currently in Itachi's bedroom, under his bed to be exact?

Her chakra sense alerted her to two people coming closer to the house as she placed the picture back under the bed and sprinted out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She was at the bottom of the stairs when the front door opened and Fugaku stepped into the foyer with Mikoto behind him.

Mikoto smiled when she saw Hoshiko, "Thank you again for bringing him home, Hoshiko-chan."

"It's no big deal," Hoshiko said bashfully.

Mikoto turned her attention to the stoic man by her side, "Anata, are you going to thank her?"

Fugaku was silent for a moment, and Hoshiko wanted to run away as quickly as she could. It took a few more seconds, by the Uchiha clan head acknowledged her by nodding his head. He removed his shoes and disappeared into the house.

Well, Hoshiko guessed that was about as close as she was going to get with a thanks from Uchiha Fugaku.

"Sasuke adores you, you know."

"What?" Hoshiko scoffed. Trying to figure out if she had heard Mikoto right.

Mikoto smiled, removing her own shoes and stepping into her house slippers, "Mm, he's always asking Itachi about you. I'm not surprised he went to you when Itachi is away. He thinks of you as a sister."

"He said that?" Hoshiko asked in disbelief.

Mikoto giggled, "Not in so many words, but as his mother I can tell." There was a twinkle in the Matriarch's eyes. "I've noticed you haven't been around Itachi and Shisui-kun much."

"We've all been busy, you know, ANBU stuff."

"I understand," Mikoto sighed. "I worry about Itachi, he's worked too hard by them."

"He's tough." Hoshiko said firmly.

Mikoto held her gaze as she ran her long fingers through her hair, "Itachi has always been independent, ever since he was a baby. He's never really needed me to mother him or look after him, but even so I still worry a great deal about him." She sighed again, reaching out to tuck a strand of Hoshiko's long black hair behind her ear. "I'm grateful that he has someone like you watching out for him."

Hoshiko felt the guilt in her stomach. She didn't deserve the kindness that Mikoto was showing her right now. She had been snooping around Itachi's bedroom not five minutes ago looking for clues about a Coup that he was planning.

Hoshiko cleared her throat, "I should really be going, it's very late."

"Yes, don't let me keep you here. I do appreciate everything you do for them."

Hoshiko shoved her sandals onto her feet in record time as she reached for the door, "Goodnight, Mikoto-san."

"Goodnight," she replied.

* * *

It was mid morning when Hoshiko woke up from her deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the bright sunlight in her room. It had been a long time since she had been able to sleep in for that long. She yawned loudly and stumbled out of bed, tripping from her foot being caught in the blanket. After cursing her blanket she went into the main area of her small home, heading to the kitchen for a drink. She knew, after gathering information from some ANBU members that Itachi wouldn't be returning to the village until later in the day. So she had a whole day to herself, and she was going to spend it in bed. Hoshiko yawned once again, shutting her eyes as she felt around the wall until she came to her bedroom door. She shuffled into her room, still half asleep, and froze when she noticed a figure standing in the center of the room.

"Ginyo—" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Hoshiko was upon him. Her glass smashed on the floor the exact moment that her fist connected with Itachi's stomach. Her speed was remarkable. Itachi didn't even have time to recover from her blow. She had ducked to the ground, swinging her leg out and catching his as he lost his balance and tumbled back. He tried to steady himself, but found it impossible as Hoshiko then grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pushed him to the ground. His back smacked against the wood as Hoshiko pressed one hand onto his shoulder and had the other pulled back into a fist at her ear. She was sat on his waist, her legs either side of him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Her silver eyes now alert narrowed down at him.

"You've improved." Itachi commented.

Hoshiko grit her teeth, her nails digging into his shoulder, "That's not an answer. What are you doing here?" She repeated again. Hoshiko watched as his onyx eyes, so familiar but distant dart over her face. She realized it was the first time that he was seeing her since she had left to join Root. She had seen him plenty over the week she had been following him, but not this close. She could see every eyelash, the fine hairs of his eyebrows. The thin lines that run diagonal under his eyes and the way his bottomless black eyes stared into her eyes. It was like they were both seeing each other for the first time.

Itachi was the one to break the connection first, his dark eyes moving to the side as he inclined his head to the bed. Hoshiko followed his gaze, seeing her black jacket that she had leant Sasuke last night folded neatly on her bed.

"Sasuke informed me on what happened last night. I was simply returning your jacket."

Hoshiko's hand, the one curled into a fist didn't move from its position as she glared down at him, "And you couldn't have used the front door like a normal person?"

"I would've thought you'd prefer it if I came here undetected. I'd suspect a certain person wouldn't be pleased if he found out you had met with me."

Hoshiko's throat constricted, her words drying up in her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as her posture slackened slightly, "What?" She managed to gasp out.

That opening was all Itachi needed. In a split second he shoved her off him and had her pushed up against the wall. Their positions reversed, one of his hands braced against the wall by her head, the other was holding onto her shoulder. His form towered over her by a head but they were inches from each other.

"You said so yourself, you joined Root. You're working for Danzo."

"With him," Hoshiko snapped. "Not for him."

"It matters not." Itachi sighed, his cool breath caressing her face. Hoshiko had forgotten what it was like to be in his presence, he always smelt clean, fresh. It was hard for her to admit, but she still missed him. Even after everything, the argument and the mission. She would always care for him. "Do you think I'm incompetent?"

His question caught her off guard for a second. Confusion flashed across her face before she smirked.

"Depends on the context," she said in her familiar sarcastic tone.

His eyes narrowed at her, "Do not insult both of our intellect, Hoshiko." Itachi saying her name had made her heart skip a beat for a second. "I know you have been following me. I'm offended that you thought I wouldn't have realized."

Hoshiko stayed silent, her lips pressed into a firm line. She wasn't exactly surprised that Itachi had caught on to her; she was more concerned about what he was going to do about it now.

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with already. I'd much rather join the world of the dead then listen to your sanctimonious bullshit."

Hoshiko was surprised when Itachi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second and then closed. When he opened them, the hand on her shoulder tightened and she felt the one by her head shift slightly so that the skin of his hand brushed against her exposed neck. Goosebumps appeared on her flesh where he had touched her. She was stunned at the gentle contact.

"Do you really think I would be able to hurt you?' His voice was quiet, barely audible. She had to strain her ears just to hear him.

"You already have, _usuratonkachi_."

She heard the sharp intake of breath from the boy in front of her. It was like he was finally realizing his actions. Hoshiko was even more shocked when Itachi's head dropped onto her shoulder. Her whole body froze. Her mouth parted slightly as she felt the hand on her shoulder slip down, stopping at her waist. His fingers pressed against the exposed skin.

Hoshiko finally found her voice, "Itachi…"

"Forgive me…"

She had almost missed the words. Her body had muffled them and his voice had been even quieter than before, but she heard them. His other hand dropped to the other side, matching its counterpart. Hoshiko didn't know what to do. She felt confused, sad, guilty, happy and fearful. What had made Itachi act this way? Was he regretting their argument? What did all of this mean? She wanted to ask so many questions but she couldn't find the words. She was scared to move, she barely breathed. If she moved, would Itachi realize what he was doing and leave? She didn't want him to leave. If anything she wanted him to stay with her. She had been angry with him for a long time, and now she was more confused then ever. Why was he asking for her forgiveness?

In a bold move, Hoshiko maneuvered her arms. She went slowly, as to not jostle him as she wrapped one arm around his neck, the other joining when he didn't flinch or shove her away from him. She didn't know what the hell was happening between them right now, but all she knew for sure that somehow Itachi wanted her near him. Her eyes shut as she laid her head against his chest, her ear pressed against him as she listened to the erratic beating of his heart. His arms suddenly wrapped around her torso, squeezing her tightly but not painfully.

Hoshiko had never been hugged like this before from the Uchiha, normally it was forced one-armed hugs that she always initiated. For Itachi to willingly embrace her, even after saying that he never wanted to see her again, it was more than strange it was downright bizarre. This whole situation was bizarre.

"If I ask, will you tell me what's going on?" Hoshiko whispered after a few moments of silence.

"You're already asking," came his reply.

"I want to help you, Itachi."

"You can help by staying away from me…" Itachi sighed, from his tone of voice it was like he was having a hard time believing his own words.

Hoshiko scoffed, "Says the one who showed up in my room."

It was like Itachi finally realized what he was doing. He pushed away from her, detangling himself from around her body and was on the other side of the room in two seconds. Hoshiko felt incredibly cold without the heat from his body on hers, she followed his movements with her eyes as he leaned against the wall by the window.

She approached him slowly, waiting to see if he would order her to stop or disappear entirely. She was two feet from him as she extended her hand, touching his arm gently.

"You tell me to stay away but your actions contradict you. Don't insult my intelligence, Itachi." She quoted him from before as his onyx eyes ghosted over her face.

She held her breath as he angled his body towards her, his free hand reaching out and brushing over her cheek softly with the back of his hand, "I do not…deserve to have…someone like you in my life."

"No, you don't." Hoshiko agreed with a scowl. She saw the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "So consider yourself lucky. There aren't many people stupid enough to be your friend after everything you've done."

His expression darkened, and Hoshiko wondered if she had said the wrong thing. Itachi pulled away again, putting up his emotional block, "It was a mistake coming here. I shall not return again."

Hoshiko sighed in frustration, repressing the urge to hit him again, "And there you go again. You know, your constant mood swings are giving me whiplash."

"It's better this way."

"What way?" Hoshiko exclaimed. "The one where you were almost bearing your soul to me or the one right now, acting like you've got a ten inch stick up your freaking ass?" Hoshiko continued to glare as she walked to her dresser; opening up the top draw she fetched the small square box out and tossed it over to the Uchiha. He caught it with ease. "There." She muttered, crossing her arms and leaning away from him. "I bought it a few months ago for your birthday last week."

Itachi opened the small box, if only to appease her. He knew that it was rude to ignore a gift, especially one from Hoshiko, as it was very rare that she bought someone else something or even remembered a birthday. Inside the box was a necklace, silver and shining. It had three silver rings, shaped like eyes and separated by the chain.

"Shisui saw it and said it reminded him of the three of us." She explained as Itachi continued to stare at the necklace.

"I cannot accept this," he said, holding it out to her.

If Hoshiko was hurt by his statement, she didn't show it. "Then don't. Sell it. Give it to someone else I don't care. I just don't want it here anymore." Itachi didn't reply. "If there's nothing else to discuss then you can leave. If you decide to stop being such a miserable child and own up to everything then you can come see me, if not then _I_ don't want to see you again."

Itachi disappeared in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Hoshiko hated being 'summoned' by Danzo. No sooner had Itachi left her house Danzo's right hand man had appeared, informing her to get her ass over to the Hokage tower for an assignment. As she entered the Hokage tower, she tried to control her anxiety over the fact that the Root member might have sensed Itachi in her house and she was about to be severely punished. She walked to the council chambers, knowing that that was where Danzo would be after finishing up with his meeting with the other council members and the Hokage.

She leaned against the wall, toying with her mask in her hands as she shifted weight on her feet. She glanced up when she heard the door slide open. To her shock Shisui stepped out. He spotted her at the same time, halting in his own stride as the two stared at each other for a few seconds. She wanted to run up and hug him. Her feelings were hurt when he walked straight passed her.

"Shisui, _matte!_ " she called, hurrying after him. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt as he stopped, turning to face her. "I haven't seen you in a while. I've been wanting to talk to you." She said, hope on her face that he wouldn't reject her like Itachi had.

" _Gomen_ , there are things that I need to take care of."

"But I need to ask you about Itachi—"

She stopped talking when Shisui placed his hands on her shoulders tightly, he gazed down at her with his large eyes, "Don't worry, Hoshiko-chan. Everything will go back to normal soon."

Hoshiko scowled, "What do you mean?"

Shisui grinned at her. She felt her heart elated at the gesture; it had been so long since she had an actual nice conversation with her friend. "Everything's going to be ok, trust me."

He was gone after that. She wondered if the conversation between them had even happened it had been that quick. What did he mean that everything was going to go back to the way it was?

"Tenshi."

Hoshiko quickly placed the porcelain mask on her face as she spun on her heel and faced Danzo who had emerged in the doorway. He beckoned her into another empty room. She was ready for her punishment; there was no way that Danzo hadn't seen her talking with Shisui.

"Shisui is a double spy."

Umm…had she just heard him right?

"Explain, please."

"The Hokage informed me that Shisui has secretly been relaying information to him about the plans of Uchiha Itachi. The meeting you witnessed with Uchiha Fugaku and the Sandaime was a transfer of knowledge."

That explained Shisui's attitude, she guessed that whatever plan to stop Itachi from ruining his life was about to go into effect.

"He revealed there is a building a half a days run from Konoha that Itachi uses to keep his plans. I want you to go there and investigate, take two others with you."

"But what if he goes there?" Hoshiko asked.

"Uchiha Shisui will be distracting him until you return, you must hurry with this. The fate of the village rests with you."

Hoshiko nodded, "I understand. I'll leave immediately."

 **X**

Hoshiko sighed and shoved open the door of the old shack. The two other Root members were keeping watch but glanced over at her when she emerged. The shack had been just over a days run like Danzo had said. It was tiny, most of the roof missing and was completely bare inside. The only thing she had found was cobwebs.

"There's nothing here." Hoshiko said to them sourly. "Either we're at the wrong place or the information was bogus."

"We should return to Konoha," the older Root member said.

"Yeah, I'd like to give Danzo a piece of my mind about believing stupid information."

Their return to Konoha came at dawn, the village gates coming into view just as the sun broke over the horizon. The three Root members took the secret entrance around the back of Konoha that lead them directly into Root headquarters. Hoshiko strode the familiar stone corridors, heading for Danzo's room that she could sense his chakra in. The two Root members had disappeared upon arrival, probably realizing that she would be well suited enough to inform Danzo on what they had found. Which was shit all. She knocked on the door and waited.

"Enter."

Following the command she entered the dimly lit room, the strong smell of incense wafting into her nostrils. She hated the smell.

"There was nothing there," Hoshiko informed him with a sharp tone.

Danzo looked disappointed as he clasped his hands under his chin, "That is…unfortunate."

"Yeah, it is." Hoshiko said, placing her hands on her hips. "Look, you've got to talk to Shisui again. He probably got the places mixed up or something."

"I'm afraid…" Danzo started, "That is now impossible."

"Why?" Hoshiko questioned, frowning at him.

She saw the regret on Danzo's face, how much of it was real she didn't know. It was an emotion she hadn't seen on him before. He was quiet for a moment, and then…

"Uchiha Shisui is dead."

* * *

 **Whew. My longest chapter yet. Sorry this took a little longer to get out I worked really hard on this chapter at certain parts! I'm sure you can guess which one's ;) I know a lot happened in this chapter and it turned out way longer then I anticipated but I hope it was well worth it. I'm super happy with this chapter and I hope you all are too! I'd love to know what you all thought about it!**

 **REPLIES**

 **StarshineRose18** \- Um about Shisui...we'll have to see...*nervous laugh*

 **Dark Rose Charm** \- Dude...I would never have been able to come up with something like that! Kudos to you! Thank you for your input I really love it!

 **Me And Not You 1001** \- Shit definitely got real! Especially in this chapter too! I have a feeling that your feeling is right tbh xd I noticed in the anime when Shisui was talking about his Sharingan he seemed to always touch his eye (not eyeball cause that's nasty(cue that's so raven lol)) Well they definately found out that she was back, and from little Sasuke of all people, and you know, Itachi being a stupid know-it-all like ususal. Damn Danzo and that damn genjutsu, when will she be saved!?

 **Davina** \- Thank you! Hahah yep I'm totally ready for pitchforks and angsty tears! And to answer your question no, Hoshiko does not know about the Sharingan's. She has no idea that Danzo's got that nasty ass arm hidden away and to her he's probably sucking at cosplaying a pirate right now. lol.

 **Thank you everyone! Look forward to next chapter where we have an explosive confrontation with Itachi and Hoshiko, finally!**


	19. The Meaning of Death

_The Meaning of Death._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

" _You're the only person I can count on, my best friend…please protect this village, and the honor of the Uchiha name."_

…

" _Wait, Shisui!"_

" _Don't stop me…Will you promise me one thing, Itachi?"_

"… _Anything…"_

" _One day…one day…tell Hoshiko the truth about us. She deserves to know…and…protect her, Itachi. If Danzo was strong enough to do this to me, who knows what he will do to her. I'm sorry for the burden that you must bear…but I cannot die peacefully until I know that she will be safe."_

"… _I will, you have my word, Shisui…"_

" _Don't give me that look…even like this I can tell what face you're making…"_

…

" _Goodbye, my friend."_

" _Shisui!"_

* * *

When Hoshiko was a small child she had asked her father about death. She had wondered what it was like to die. At first he had abolished the idea. Telling her that a child so young had no place in worrying about death. The idea was ridiculous seeing as Hoshiko was in the academy and when she was a Genin she would be placed in dangerous situations. In time Kisho had finally answered her question.

" _Death will only last a second, it is what you choose to do with your life that has meaning. The final destination for everyone in this world is the afterlife, be it your enemies or friends…we are all the same in that retrospect. In death, no one man is greater than another. Death is not the end, Hoshiko. It is a wonderful new beginning."_

X

"Did you hear me?" Danzo asked the silent girl. It had been a few moments since Danzo had spoken the four words that had shattered Hoshiko's resolve.

Hoshiko's glassy eyes rose slowly until she met Danzo's beady eye, "What?"

"I said Uchiha Shisui is dead."

Hoshiko didn't want to believe him, she couldn't…Shisui couldn't be dead…he was too strong…

Hoshiko forced back her tears; she wouldn't let Danzo see her cry. She would let no one see her cry. She balled her fists up by her side, her nails digging into her skin to give her something to feel other then the painful ache she felt in her heart.

"How?" She whispered airily.

Danzo reached over for his clay cup, "A suicide, it seems." He said nonchalantly.

Her breath got caught in her throat. Her brows knitted together as she lurched forwards, "No! That's impossible! Shisui would never…not after I saw him the other day!"

"People can deceive you," Danzo stated. "They can hide their true feelings deep within." Hoshiko turned away, gritting her teeth harshly and squeezing her eyes shut. "Unless…" Danzo muttered. Hoshiko slowly turned back to face him. "There was something else at work here."

"What are you talking about?" Hoshiko asked.

Danzo sighed and stood up from his chair. He reached for his cane and shuffled the few feet towards her. "I just think…maybe this could've been avoided had I not sent you on that mission…" Danzo clicked his tongue and sighed ruefully. Danzo had stopped so that their shoulders were inches away from each other, facing opposite ways.

"I don't—what do you mean?" Hoshiko's voice was small; afraid of the answer she was about to receive.

"It's just that…" Hoshiko held her breath as she listened. "The last person to be seen with Shisui was Uchiha Itachi…"

Hoshiko felt her heart leap into her throat; it stopped her from producing any noise as she tried to shake off this feeling. It was the feeling of betrayal, sorrow and grief. The room was deathly silent, you could hear a pin drop. Her knees began to weaken, and she knew that if she didn't get out of there fast Danzo would have to witness one of her breakdowns. Something that hadn't happened since her father had died.

She spun swiftly on her heel, taking off at a sprint as she wrenched the door open and was flying out of the room and down the hall. Danzo watched her go, a triumphant smirk on his wrinkled face.

* * *

It was like the sky was crying. Light raindrops sprinkled down on Konoha on the mournful day. It was Shisui's funeral. Hoshiko's misty eyes watched the raindrops slide down her window. It was silent in her home, not even her mother was making a noise. News of Shisui's untimely death had spread through the village like wildfire. Everyone knew who he was, and everyone felt the loss of one so young. The funeral today was only for the Uchiha to attend, but Hoshiko was going anyway. She didn't care if the Uchiha glared and resented her, Shisui had been her best friend…and now he was gone.

Hoshiko heard her door open from behind her. She didn't acknowledge her mother entering the room but heard her walk slowly over to her. "You look lovely." Hoshiko thought on what she was wearing. A simple black dress that ended mid thigh, a square neckline and short sleeves. "You should take a jacket," Hiroka said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Hoshiko shook her head. She didn't need a jacket, what was a little water and wind compared to the unbearable pain in her chest?

"Would you like me to come with you?" Hiroka asked, peering around her shoulder to gauge her daughter's emotions.

"No," Hoshiko finally spoke. "I need to do this." Hoshiko reached for her forehead protector as she secured it in place tightly. She turned to leave but was stopped by her mother enveloping her in her arms tightly.

"I am so sorry," Hiroka whispered. Hoshiko allowed her head to rest against her mother's cheek for a second. After the moment she pulled away from her and left her room.

 **X**

Hoshiko stopped at the Yamanaka Flower Shop first. She bought a bouquet of white posy from the woman and left hurriedly. Her destination was the Uchiha compound first. The funeral ceremony would begin in a short while but there was something she had to do first.

She wasn't surprised to see the compound mostly empty, some Uchiha weren't attending the funeral but the majority had gone out of respect. She walked the familiar route towards Shisui's home, coincidently to reach Shisui's home you had to pass by the Uchiha manor; Itachi's home.

She didn't look over at the haunting house, keeping her eyes focused ahead of her. As she passed the entrance to the Uchiha manor something on the perimeter wall caught her attention. The tall wall separated the Uchiha from the surrounding forest, and all along the clan emblem was painted on it. On one particular emblem there was a crack, or a puncture. She approached it curiously. The rain dripped down the wall, making it seem like the crack was huge. She held the flowers in one hand and with her other she reached out, her fingertips running over the crack.

She knew that this wasn't a natural cause. Someone had done this, but why? If she had to guess, the way she saw it—it almost looked like someone had thrown a kunai into the wall. Hoshiko turned her head; the emblem was directly in line with the entrance to the Uchiha manor door. What could have possibly happened here?

Hoshiko shook the foreboding feeling away as she continued on her way. She arrived outside of Shisui's modest home to see an array of flowers and candles laid out around the entrance of the home. The wind and rain had long blown out all the flames but she had no doubt that someone would come back once the weather cleared up to light them all again. Hoshiko placed the flowers on the doorstep, bringing her hands together and bowing in respect. She sent a prayer up for Shisui.

Hoshiko remained there for a while. She was remembering her past with Shisui. She could still hear his laugh in her ears. She wanted to hear it again; she would give anything to hear Shisui tell her that everything was going to be ok; that he was playing a practical joke on her like he always did.

Reality sunk in. Shisui wasn't coming back. He wasn't going to throw an arm around her shoulder and drag her around the village like he normally would. They would never whisper behind Itachi's back playfully again, plotting out ways to annoy the stoic Uchiha. They would never bond over their love of ramen and their loathing of tofu again.

Hoshiko knew that if she were to have a brother, it would've been Shisui. He drove her insane but yet managed to always know what she was feeling. He would tease her endlessly and she would cuss him out, but deep down she treasured those times. He helped her through her childhood days. He was a pillar of jokes and support that she needed in her life…and now he was just gone. It was still hard for her to accept that a person she had known for years was gone. She would never see him again.

* * *

"What is she doing here?" Uchiha Fugaku asked lowly. Sasuke glanced up at his father, his wide eyes confused as he stood at the front of the clan with his family in the rain. They were at the cemetery, honoring Shisui. Sasuke stood close to his mother who held a black umbrella over their heads. Fugaku and Itachi stood next to each other, the former holding the umbrella.

" _Anata_ , they were friends…" Mikoto said in a hushed voice. Sasuke had no idea who they were talking about. He glanced over at his older brother. Itachi was staring at the ground, his face expressionless. Sasuke looked passed his brother, and through the crowd he spotted a lone figure standing by themselves far away from the clan.

Hoshiko stood in the rain, letting the water drip off her as she stared at the headstone that had been engraved with Shisui's name. Sasuke couldn't tell if she was crying or not, the rain covering any evidence of her sorrow.

"Hoshiko-nee-chan."

Sasuke slowly moved off, wanting to go and stand with her. A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder, "…Sasuke."

The boy stopped and glanced up into his older brothers eyes. Itachi had finally moved for the first time since they had arrived at the cemetery. "Nii-san?" Sasuke said.

"Leave her." Itachi commanded quietly.

Sasuke frowned up at him and shook his head, "Just because you are fighting with Hoshiko-nee doesn't mean that I have to ignore her too." Sasuke shrugged off his hand and scurried off into the rain.

"You two are fighting?" Mikoto inquired, hearing Sasuke as she turned to her eldest son. Itachi averted his gaze from her.

"Now is not the time," Fugaku said sternly. Mikoto nodded and moved back into place.

 **X**

Hoshiko knew the moment that Sasuke had left the vicinity of his family that he would be joining her. She watched him scurry through the light rain as he stopped a few feet away from her. Hoshiko was soaked to the bone, she had been walking and standing in the rain with no umbrella this entire time. Even if the rain was light, it was continuous. Her dark hair stuck to her face and neck, water running down her bare skin.

"Go stand with your family, Sasuke." Hoshiko ordered quietly, not meeting his gaze. She chose to stare ahead at the tombstone.

"But no one is standing with you," Sasuke said innocently.

Hoshiko turned her head to look down at him, "I am not an Uchiha. I am not welcome here. Please Sasuke, go to your family."

Sasuke frowned up at her, his little fists clenched at his side. "But you were Shisui's friend. You deserve—"

"Sasuke." Hoshiko said firmly. The little boy winced at her harsh tone of voice. Hoshiko walked to him and then knelt down on one knee so that she was directly in line with his eyes. Sasuke avoided her stare. Hoshiko reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her so that she could whisper in his ear. " _Arigato_." Sasuke's eyes widened as Hoshiko pushed him away gently, she held his shoulders. "You know, Sasuke, all those times I was mean to you. The times where I called you names and pushed you around…I never meant any of it." Sasuke listened quietly for once, his gaze focused on Hoshiko's misty eyes. Eyes that he could see were pooling with tears. "All these years I've thought of you as my own otouto. I don't ever want to see you get hurt, Sasuke."

Sasuke tried to shake off the ominous feeling in his chest. "Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye?" He asked timidly. Hoshiko didn't answer; she merely smiled weakly at him.

Something over Sasuke's shoulder caught her eye as her gaze lifted. Her eyes settled on the figure of Itachi as the stoic faced Uchiha was calmly walking towards them. Around them, the Uchiha were dispersing, the ceremony was over and they would all be leaving. Hoshiko watched Itachi as he kept his stare on Sasuke's back, not even daring to look at her. He stopped a few feet away as Hoshiko stood back up onto her feet as Sasuke turned to his brother.

"Sasuke, go to okaa-san."

"But—"

"Sasuke." Itachi said sternly, although his expression stayed soft towards his little brother, "Do as I say."

Sasuke nodded, understanding that something was probably about to happen between his brother and Hoshiko, and he shouldn't be around. He cast a fleeting look over his shoulder at Hoshiko, who gave him a reassuring smile. Sasuke could tell that the smile didn't reach her eyes as he passed by his brother and hurried over to his mother.

Hoshiko tore her gaze away from Sasuke and looked over at Itachi. The Uchiha still hadn't met her gaze as he began walking again. He brushed passed her silently, the only sound coming from his feet walking over the grass. Hoshiko turned her body with her gaze as she followed him with her eyes. The Uchiha was leaving the cemetery and turning right, heading off into the woods. Taking a deep breath Hoshiko balled her fists up tightly and strode after him.

* * *

She followed him silently. Itachi was jumping through the trees. There was a different element to the way he moved. His leaps were shaky. He was using more force to jump off then he normally would. Hoshiko was keeping her distance from him; she knew that he would know that she had followed him from the cemetery. If Itachi didn't want her following him, she would know.

She sensed him stopping up ahead. She glanced up through the trees, the rain was heavier now, the clouds darker. Hoshiko knew that he was waiting for her, she was terrified to step into that clearing…but she had to—she had to know the truth.

She jumped out of the tree and took a few calming breaths before she walked between the large trees and into the small clearing. Itachi stood a few meters away, the rain already soaking through his clothes. Hoshiko shivered from the chilly gust of wind that blew around them.

The two ANBU stared each other down, neither wanted to be the first to speak. When Hoshiko looked at Itachi, she didn't recognize him anymore. Gone was the boy who had protected her from bullies, who had spent years putting up with her arrogant and petty attitude. Who went out of his way to protect her Mizukiri ability. He was a shadow of his former self. Hoshiko didn't know this Itachi. His onyx eyes were distant…aloof—like he was desperately trying to detach himself from everything.

"If you aren't going to ask me anything, you should leave." Itachi finally spoke. His tone was calm and collected.

Hoshiko bristled, "Who says I want to ask you anything?"

"Then why else would you follow me here? I doubt it's to offer me any sentiments." Itachi stated.

Hoshiko gave him a shrewd smirk, "You're right. I'm not here for that." Itachi waited for her to continue, he was curious as to where this conversation was headed. Hoshiko took a deep breath as she hardened her gaze towards him. "I want to know why you killed Sh—him." Hoshiko changed saying his name at the last second. It was still too painful to say Shisui's names, especially to Itachi.

If Itachi was surprised or hurt at her accusation, he didn't show it. "What makes you think that I had anything to do with his death?"

Hoshiko grit her teeth in irritation. Itachi's insouciant attitude was getting on her nerves. She took a step forward, her finger pointing at him accusingly, "You were the last person to see Shisui! The Shisui I know would never have…" She paused, unable to say the words. "He never would have done that!"

Itachi felt a sense a familiarity with her words, it was only a few days ago that the Uchiha Police Force members had been accusing him of the same thing. Itachi blinked slowly and turned his head away from her. "Then you did not know Shisui as well as you thought you did."

His statement triggered Hoshiko. In a second the silence was broken by her _Raikiri_ as she made the lightning collect in her hand. Her anger got the best of her. All she could see was red. She was furious at Itachi's attitude, she was heartbroken by Shisui's death. Made worse by Itachi's comments that she didn't really know Shisui. Hoshiko leapt at Itachi, a scream tore through her throat as she ran at him. Her emotions were making the _Raikiri_ unstable in her hand and bolts of electricity were flying out and hitting the ground and nearby trees. She could feel the surge of power ricocheting up her arm. From her Root training she had been practicing this jutsu more and more, if she was going to use it in a battle with Itachi, there would be nothing left.

She was fast approaching Itachi, and yet the Uchiha made no move to dodge her attack. She wondered vaguely why that was but the thought was gone when her rage overtook her once more. She was so close now; she could see the minute details on his face. Hoshiko brought her hand up, intent on piercing right through his chest when suddenly her vision wavered. Before her stood Shisui, an illusion with a smile on his face and his thumb held up. Hoshiko skidded to a stop, her _Raikiri_ extinguished as she watched the vision of Shisui fade away and Itachi once again stood before her. The vision had been so real; she could have sworn it was really him. Now that he was gone the reality set in again, Shisui was dead.

 **X**

Itachi watched Hoshiko as her eyes searched his for the vision of Shisui he had made her see. It was the only way he could think of to stop her from killing him without harming her in the process. He had seen the intent in her silver gaze, she fully meant to harm or kill him so he had protected himself. He tried not to feel guilty about using that particular Genjutsu on her, but he did anyway. It was silent between them, until a strangled cry emanated from Hoshiko's mouth. Her knees buckled as she dropped to the soggy ground, her hands catching her fall as her whole body began to shake. Itachi could hear her mournful cries as they echoed around him.

Itachi knew that Hoshiko was at her limit. She never cried—never around people anyway. So for her to breakdown, in front of him no less, he knew that her emotional state was compromised. Itachi tilted his head back, lifting his chin up to the clouds that he could see through the foliage. Hoshiko's cries would haunt him forever; he would always remember this moment.

" _Itachi, promise me that one day you'll tell Hoshiko the truth. She deserves to know…"_

Itachi thought back on his promise. He shut his eyes in anguish, ' _Shisui…today is not that day. I cannot tell her yet; otherwise doing so will put her in danger. I hope you will understand.'_

Itachi was not an idiot. He knew of Hoshiko's secret mission. The day that Shisui had seen her in the Hokage tower he had doubled back and eavesdropped on the conversation between Danzo and Hoshiko. He had heard enough to know that Danzo had been manipulating Hoshiko this entire time. She solely believed that Itachi was the one planning the coup and not the clan. When Shisui had told him this information, he was livid. Danzo seemed to be on their side but really he had his own agenda, but he couldn't figure out where Hoshiko fit into all of this?

Was Danzo hoping that Hoshiko would truly try and kill him? If Itachi died, there would be no one to stop the Coup and war would break out. Was that what Danzo really wanted? Another war?

Quiet sniffling drew his attention. He lowered his head, watching Hoshiko as her shaking started to subside; she wiped her face with the back of her hand and slowly started to push herself onto her feet.

"How dare you," she whispered. "How dare you do that to me!" She raised her head, so that she was staring into his dark onyx eyes. Itachi kept his face emotionless as he thought about what he was about to do. It would be the final straw that would sever their friendship. Itachi had to do this, he couldn't tell her the truth about Danzo. He knew that if Hoshiko found out, she would try and kill Danzo, and even she wasn't strong enough to take on the whole of Root and ANBU. And Itachi couldn't make a move against Danzo until the Uchiha matter was taken care of. It's like he was a double-edged sword, either option would cause everyone pain.

"It matters not anymore." Itachi stated calmly.

He saw the fury flash in her eyes as Hoshiko drew back her arm to punch him. Before she was an inch away from his face Itachi reached out and latched onto her wrist painfully. Hoshiko gasped in shock as Itachi twisted her arm and body and pinned her arm against her back. His chest pressed against her back and he lowered his mouth to her ear.

"It would be wise to not attack me, Hoshiko." He said silkily. He felt her body shiver. "You are not strong enough to defeat me, and you never will be."

He was playing on Hoshiko's weakness. He knew that her fear in life was that she would be weak; she hated people protecting her and always wanted to best him. There had only been a handful of times over the years that she had rarely gotten close to beating him. He knew that if he tried his best to make her fear him, she wouldn't pry into the truth. She would stay safe.

 **X**

Hoshiko wriggled out of his grip, stumbling a few feet away as she tried to calm her pounding heart. She spun around; fear evident in her eyes as she tried not to tremble under the Uchiha's gaze. She watched as his eyes suddenly blazed crimson, her heart gave another jump as she stepped back. Fearing that Itachi was about to attack her.

"Was it all an act?" She asked softly.

Itachi's head tilted to the side, "What was?"

Hoshiko swallowed back the lump in her throat, "Everything…our friendship. Did any of it mean anything to you?"

A cold smirk passed over Itachi's face, "Those foolish enough to carry such bonds could never understand the true meaning of being a Shinobi."

A tear fell from her eye; Hoshiko stood her ground with her head held high. "What true meaning is that then?"

"To ascertain power."

Hoshiko's expression dropped. It was like Danzo had said all those weeks ago. Itachi was doing this for power. She had enough of this. Hoshiko spun on her heel, turning her back on Itachi. She walked a few steps before stopping and casting a glance over her shoulder.

"The next time we meet, Uchiha, will be for the last time." She threatened and disappeared into the trees. Hoshiko had made her decision. She would be the one to kill Uchiha Itachi. She knew she would probably die in the process but if she could save Konoha and the few other people she cared about, maybe Shisui's death wouldn't be in vain.

* * *

"It is as you predicted, Danzo-sama."

Danzo looked up from the scroll he was reading to his ANBU agent kneeling before him. "So they met."

"Hai," the ANBU replied. "Uchiha Itachi and Ginyoru Hoshiko met outside of Konoha. They proceeded to get into an argument where Ginyoru attempted to use her _Raikiri_ on him but Uchiha used a Genjutsu on her to stop her."

"Did they say anything about the Coup?" Danzo asked.

The ANBU shook his head, "No. Their conversation was specifically about Uchiha Shisui and their previous relationship."

"Previous?" Danzo questioned.

"It seems that Ginyoru has declared to kill Uchiha Itachi."

Danzo smirked, "Excellent. That little girl is finally proving useful to me. Soon this will all be over and I will no longer have to worry about that prodigy and that gullible child. Where is she now?"

"She arrived at Headquarters a few minutes ago. I believe she is heading down to the training area."

Danzo pushed himself out of his hard chair, "Well then. Perhaps I should go down there and add more fuel to the flame, so to speak." Danzo felt the nervousness from his agent. "What is it?"

"Danzo-sama…" the ANBU began. "Is it wise to continue training her? Should the girl find out the truth, she will no doubt try to harm you."

Danzo chuckled, "Do not fret. My little Tenshi is so consumed with her rage and sorrow that the only thing she can focus on is killing Itachi. This is what I have been manipulating her for. All the tests, the training's, the torture was all for this moment. Where she would finally go through her final test. That test is killing the Uchiha brat, and if I know her…she will do everything to succeed."

The ANBU thought over this for a moment, "Hai, Danzo-sama."

As Danzo left the room he could feel the rumbling from under his feet. Power was surging from the training room. No doubt it was Hoshiko preparing for her final test. A crooked smile appeared on Danzo's face as she slowly shuffled to the stairs, "That foolish Uchiha. He's made this all too easy for me."

* * *

 **Whoa! Sorry for the wait guys! Life got in the way and then this chapter really really really didn't want to be written! I had so much trouble with this chapter, trying to make sure I got everything right without revealing too much but also giving some bits away. But I'm glad it's out! It may not be the longest chapter, blame that on my writers block for this chapter but I did try my best. Also, in case you were wondering why Hoshiko didn't say anything about the Coup is because she is under Danzo's Genjutsu remember? Because of that she couldn't even think about asking Itachi about it all, so yeah, Danzo is still a Jackass.**

 **On another note, the big ole' 'event' will most likely be happening next chapter. I never planned on having the pre-massacre be this many chapters! I only intended to have one or two of Itachi and Hoshiko as young teenagers but I just couldn't not do their past. It makes it all more tragic don't you think? Sigh, just what do you think is going to go down with all of this!? I'd love to hear your opinions and I actually can't wait to write the post-massacre stuff, I have a lot planned so get excited, or dread it...whatever...**

 **REPLIES**

 **Dark Rose Charm** \- Yes, I am so sorry that Shisui died...honestly it killed me to kill him off. I really tried to think of a way to incorporate him into the plot I have created but it just didn't work out :/ But I promise that there will be a wonderful homage to Shisui in the end.

 **StarshineRose18** \- I know he died. I was heartbroken that he had to go, I loved writing him so much...I'm sad to see him go, but I guess I could always write flashbacks...Hoshiko and Sasuke moments are always my favourite, other then our main two. Though I do wonder how his relationship with Hoshiko will change him, or keep him the same? We'll see!

 **Me And Not You 1001** \- I'm so sorry for killing him off! I didn't want to but I had to. If i would've known how much I loved writing his character I would've found a way to incorporate him into my plot, but I didn't...sorry. But yeah shit really hit the fan in this chapter, and it will continue long into the next one too!

 **Davina** \- Thank you! Ahh Sasuke and Hoshiko are so cute and funny to write, their sibling relationship is something I totally live for! Itachi is a god, i doubt Hoshiko will ever beat him...maybe when she's older...maybe...we'll see ;) You're welcome, sorry this one took me so bloody long!

 **Sarette** \- You and me both...this chapter was so hard to write with all the sadness and angst..

 **Alera33** \- Oh my god wow, thank you for saying that! That honestly means so much to me! I hope you enjoyed and I am sorry for the delay! Next update will be quicker, I promise!

 **Thank you everyone! I'll be back soon, promise!**


	20. We Meet In Dreams

_We Meet In Dreams.  
_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

 ** _11 years prior…_**

Itachi stood gazing over the barren wasteland, young eyes glancing over the dead bodies. Seeing the field littered with bloody kunai. He wiped away the tears that had built up. This was something he didn't want to see. He didn't like fighting. He hated wars. What was the point of a war? All it did was bring death and destruction to those around. Itachi vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to stop a war from breaking out ever again. He never wanted to see another field like this filled with bodies. These people…no—shinobi, they would never go home again. They would never see their families again. They could be father's…mothers, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles. Grandparents even…

The world he lived in was a cruel one. There was so much sadness, so little hope. He wanted to change that.

"No, please!"

A male voice was caught in the wind as Itachi turned. He saw a gathering of Konoha shinobi, and before them was a family of three. A man, a woman and what appeared to be a young child. Itachi hurried over, wanting to know what was happening.

"You're part of the Ginyoru clan! Don't lie to us, we can tell by your eyes!" a Konoha shinobi bellowed at the man, pointing to his face.

Itachi paused, stopping at the edge of the group, as he looked the family over. The father was a tall man, with dark hair; his eyes were piercing pupil less silver. His wife was a small woman, with dark brown hair. She was currently holding onto her daughter. Itachi peered at the girl curiously. Her hair was already long and dark, matching her father. She was clinging tightly onto her mother, tears running down her round cheeks.

"Please!" Kisho begged to them. "We had no part in this war! We were ostracized many years ago! We bear no ill intent to Konoha or anyone else." The crowd parted suddenly as Uchiha Fugaku came storming to the front. Itachi watched his father furrow his brows at the family. Kisho stepped towards Fugaku, "Please, we only seek peace. Is that not what you want too?"

There was a long moment where Fugaku continued to stare down Kisho. Itachi stepped closer to his father, "Otou-san?" Fugaku turned his head to gaze down at his young son. Itachi was a good judge of character for one so young. He could tell that the man was being sincere.

Kisho saw the father and son. "Please…all I want is my daughter to grow up safe. Would you not do anything for your own child?" Kisho pointed down at Itachi. The child in her mother's arms moved, her watery silver eyes scanned over the crowd of shinobi fearfully, before they finally settled on Itachi.

And then she smiled.

"Bring them back to Konoha. Hokage-sama can deal with them," Fugaku ordered. Hiroka let out a cry of relief as Kisho embraced them tearfully. Hoshiko angled her head so that she could keep eye contact with Itachi; she raised her small hand and waved at him innocently.

"Itachi. Come." Fugaku ordered. The boy nodded and hurried after his father. They led the group up the front, but Itachi couldn't help but look over his shoulder and see the small family of three walking together. Hoshiko walking between them as both her mother and father held one hand each. Itachi was amazed that she was smiling, how could she smile after witnessing a war?

But one thing was for sure…Itachi would never forget what her smile looked like that day.

* * *

 ** _8 years prior…_**

"Hoshiko!"

The girl in question stopped her furious beating of the bully Kamano. The boy had been picking on her constantly all day, pulling her ponytail, tugging on her clothes, tripping her in the hallway…it wasn't like it was an odd occurrence. This happened most days in the academy, with the sensei's completely oblivious. Now was the time that Hoshiko had finally snapped and had turned on him, tackling him to the ground and punching the snot out of him.

A hand roughly grabbed her, she was jolted up and off of Kamano who had a bloody nose and black eye. "What do you think you're doing?" Inoue-sensei bellowed at her. Hoshiko turned her body away from Inoue and Kamano. "Go and wait in the class room for me." He said firmly as Hoshiko wrenched her arm out of his grip and stormed into the academy building.

She slammed the classroom door behind her and took a seat at her desk at the back of the room. She looked out the window, and was able to see Inoue-sensei helping up Kamano and talking him to the academy medic. Hoshiko flicked her hair out of her eyes and rested her head on her arms.

She didn't lift her head when she heard the classroom door open. She heard heavy footsteps approaching her. A loud sigh escaped Inoue's mouth as he leaned against the front of the desk so that he would be eye to eye with Hoshiko.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Inoue asked her. His voice didn't hold the anger it had before.

"It wasn't my fault!" The seven year olds cry was muffled.

Inoue sighed once more; he reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. Hoshiko raised her head an inch, Inoue now able to see her watery eyes. "Is Kamano bullying you again?"

Hoshiko looked away. When Kamano had first bullied her back in her first year at the academy, the parents and sensei's had gotten involved. Kamano had stopped for a while, but once Itachi had left the academy…it had started up again.

"Why do you care?" Hoshiko snapped bitterly. Balling her small fists up on the table.

Inoue frowned at her in bewilderment, "Why do I—of course I care!"

"No you don't!" Hoshiko yelled. Tears started up again, "None of you do! Everyone hates me! The villagers, the other children, the sensei's! Everyone hates me!"

"Nobody hates you."

"Yes they do." Hoshiko glared. "I'm not stupid, sensei. I hear what they all say about my family and me. Kamano thinks its funny to pick on me because he knows that the other sensei's won't stop him."

Inoue looked stunned, "What are you talking about?"

Hoshiko wiped her eyes and leaned down on the desk again, "Kamano hit me last week. Roku-sensei saw it but he didn't do anything…don't try and tell me that people care about me…I know they don't…everyone wishes that I wasn't here."

Inoue shut his eyes; he could feel a pain in his chest from Hoshiko's story. Roku was a man who had lost his brother in the war…to the Ginyoru clan…it was no wonder why he hadn't stepped in—but nonetheless it was no excuse. Hoshiko was an innocent child.

"Hoshiko…" Inoue whispered to her, reaching out and patting her head gently. The girl raised it slowly. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to Roku-sensei…and I want you to know—I care about all my students, especially you."

Hoshiko scoffed, "You're just saying that, Sensei."

Inoue cracked a smile, "It's true. You always have a way of giving me a sarcastic answer without sounding rude, a horrible trait that you're developing." Hoshiko smirked. "You're excelling in Taijutsu and you're picking up Ninjutsu like a true shinobi. I notice that when it rains you spend more time staring out the window then paying attention to me. You don't like big crowds which is why I tend to do individual or duo projects." Hoshiko wiped at her eyes, a smile forming on her face.

Inoue continued, "I believe you have the potential to be a great Kunoichi one day. You're strong, fearless and courageous. If you want to be great, you can't let what other people say get to you. There will always be people who are going to try and make you fail, but you have to be stronger and wiser then them."

Hoshiko grinned at Inoue, "Thank you, Sensei. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Now go on. I need to have a chat with Kamano…"

* * *

 ** _6 and a half years prior…_**

Hoshiko jumped when she heard the plate clatter to the floor. She sprung up from her bed, hurrying out into the kitchen. "Okaa-san?" She called in concern. Hoshiko swung around the corner. "Are you ok?" Hoshiko called as she halted in her tracks. In her kitchen was a man she had seen once or twice. He was tall, draped in a shiny black cloak with a bandana forehead protector. Two scars ran parallel on his face. His name was Morino Ibiki. He was her father's superior.

Hoshiko heard a horrible cry; she looked over at her mother. Hiroka had dropped to the floor, hugging her arms around her body as she cried on the floor. Hoshiko looked between Ibiki and her mother, wondering why the hell she was crying. It was then that Hoshiko saw the necklace in Ibiki's hands. It was a simple silver pendant that her father always wore. It had blood splatters on it.

"No!" Hoshiko screamed.

Hiroka gasped at Hoshiko's appearance, she had been so consumed in her own grief that she had failed to notice that Hoshiko was in the room. "Hoshiko!" Hiroka yelled, clambering to her feet and running to her daughter.

"It's not true!" Hoshiko cried, pleading with Ibiki to tell her otherwise. Hiroka grabbed Hoshiko by the arms. "He can't be dead! Where is he? I want to see Otou-san!"

"I'm so sorry," Hiroka cried, pulling the hysterical Hoshiko into her arms. "I'm so sorry."

"He died on a mission to gather Intel." Ibiki explained. Hiroka and Hoshiko stared at him. "I am sorry." Ibiki placed the necklace on the counter; he nodded to the two women and started to leave the house.

Hoshiko pushed herself out of her mother's arms and sprinted at Ibiki. She slammed her hands into his back, not doing much against the grown adult. Ibiki turned his head slightly to stare down at her.

"This is your fault! He never wanted to do this! You killed him!"

"Hoshiko," Hiroka scolded weakly. Hoshiko glared up at Ibiki. She broke eye contact, ducking her head and sprinting out of the open door and into the freezing rain.

 **X**

It was nearing the end of winter in Konoha. It was still cold enough that the residents still wore thick coats outside, and today was no exception. Itachi walked through the street, his five and a half year old brother holding onto his hand as young Sasuke splashed in the puddles. Itachi pulled up the hood of Sasuke's blue raincoat once more as it had started to rain again.

"Nii-san, do you have to go on a mission again?" Sasuke asked, jumping into a puddle and giggling when the water splashed up at him.

"You know I do." Itachi replied with a weak smile. Sasuke sighed heavily.

Itachi lifted his gaze back up to the road ahead. He strolled through Konoha, lazily making his way back to their home when he saw a figure running towards them. He narrowed his eyes, seeing a girl with long dark hair, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and shirt. As she got closer Itachi was surprised to see that it was Ginyoru Hoshiko, a girl that had despised him in the academy. What was even more shocking was that she was crying. Itachi watched as Hoshiko sprinted passed him and Sasuke, her bare feet splashing in the water. Itachi followed her with his eyes, stopping in his tracks as Hoshiko carried on like she hadn't even noticed him. He wondered why she was crying?

"Did you know her, Nii-san?" Sasuke asked him.

Itachi glanced down at his brother, "No. Let's go home before okaa-san scolds me for keeping you out in the rain."

* * *

 ** _6 months prior…_**

"Itachi! Itachi!" Hoshiko yelled out as she ran into the clearing. The Uchiha in question turned at the sound of his name. Hoshiko sprinted up to Itachi.

"I did it! I passed!" Hoshiko exclaimed in delight. She launched herself at the older Uchiha, catching him off guard for once as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Itachi stumbled under the force of her hug, as he froze, unable to comprehend what was happening right now.

Was Hoshiko…hugging him?

Hoshiko suddenly realized what she was doing as she leapt away from him like he was a hot potato. Her cheeks were flushed red as she held up a piece of paper in her hand. "I passed the theory test for ANBU."

A smirk danced across Itachi's face, "Congratulations."

Hoshiko crossed her arms and held her chin up proudly, "So this finally means we're going to be equal."

"Hn."

Hoshiko eyed him wearily, "Hey, you have got to say more than that. You always thought I'd never amount to anything!"

"I never said that." Itachi stated seriously. "I always new you would become a strong Kunoichi."

Hoshiko stared at him, wide-eyed. That was…the first proper compliment that she had ever received from Itachi. All too soon Hoshiko felt her cheeks redden bashfully as she faced away from the Uchiha. "Y-you're just teasing me!" A delicate smile graced Itachi's lips, and he said nothing to her. "Whatever, so my exam is in three weeks and you need to help me prepare." Hoshiko demanded.

"Do I now?" Itachi questioned jokingly.

Hoshiko spun around to face him, desperation on her face. "Of course you do! I'm never going to be able to pass if you don't help me!"

"I thought you said that we were equal?" he teased.

Hoshiko's face grew redder, "It doesn't matter! Help me!"

The clearing was suddenly filled with the deep baritone of Itachi's chuckle…

* * *

 **X**

" _The next time we meet, Uchiha, will be for the last time."_

Itachi awoke slowly, the dream fading away as he sat up in his bed. His blanket slid down his bare chest as his heavy eyes lingered on his hands in his lap. Hands that tonight…would slaughter his clan.

Tonight was the night. The deal had been struck with Danzo to keep his little brother safe and out of harms way. He had requested Madara's help, a man who he had seen lurking around the village these past few weeks since Shisui's death. And during these weeks, he had not seen Hoshiko once. Her threat lingering in his mind, and he deserved it. He deserved her hatred. He would much rather Hoshiko be angry with him then pity him. He could handle the burning fury in her silver eyes, but to see her pity within her stormy orbs would be his undoing.

Itachi swung his legs over the side of his bed as his eyes glanced over to the picture frame that sat on his bedside table. His eyes settled on Shisui in the picture, the beaming boy standing in the middle with his arms thrown around his and Hoshiko's shoulders. It was still difficult from him to believe that Shisui was gone. Itachi's gaze slid over to the lone girl in the picture. Her arms were crossed loosely over her chest, a half smile on her face. The picture was only a year old, and yet to Itachi…it felt like decades had passed since they had all been that carefree. Even he was smirking in the photo, his body language completely relaxed around his two closest friends.

Itachi turned his face away from the picture; reaching out his hand he felt for the top of the frame and pulled it down. After today, he would never be able to look upon their faces again.

Itachi dressed casually, forgoing his armor, he wouldn't be needing it until tonight. Today he would be spending it around the village, drinking in all the sights one last time. It was still very early in the morning, the morning light barely breaking over the village. Itachi walked down his stairs, spotting his mother carrying a handful of clothing.

"Good morning, Itachi." Mikoto said with a smile.

"Hn," Itachi acknowledged with the nod of his head as he went straight to his shoes and strapped them on. Itachi stood up and reached for the door.

"Itachi…" Mikoto said gently from behind. Itachi paused and turned his face to glance over at her. "I love you." Itachi turned his face away, gritting his teeth he pulled open the door and stepped out into the early morning.

 **X**

His feet flew over the roofs of Konoha; he wasn't quite sure where he was going. The crisp autumn air sent a shiver down his spine; before they knew it Konoha would be under a blanket of snow. Itachi paused on the roof, his gaze settled on a window that faced the street below. It was open slightly, easy for someone to sneak in if they wished to do so. He used his acute senses to try and pick up a familiar chakra presence, but he couldn't feel her. She had disappeared ever since Shisui's funeral. He came to her house every morning and night, just to see if she came home…but she never did. Itachi guessed that she was probably at Root headquarters. When he had met with Danzo he hadn't even let him step twenty feet near the building. They had conversed outside, probably to stop Hoshiko from sensing him.

Itachi crouched down on the roof, sitting on the tiles he titled his head back and started up at the lightening sky. Would it be so bad if he told her? If he came clean about everything…what would she do? Would she still be angry? Or worse, would she help him? Would Hoshiko help him rid Konoha of the Uchiha clan, could she live a life on the run with him, forever a traitor to the village that had taken her family in? Itachi shook his head. He could never ask her to do that…and yet, a small part of him wanted to.

His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed her. He immediately masked his chakra, his eyes honing in on her as she came walking around the corner. Her steps were silent, like she was walking on air. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the waves trailing down her back. She was garbed in her armor, her mask tied to her side as she played with her hand gloves. Her silver eyes were downcast. Her cheeks flushed lightly from the cold of the morning. She paused in her walk, her head tilted up to the roof Itachi was sitting on but he had already disappeared.

* * *

Hoshiko continued to stare at the roof. A frown came over her delicate features. She could have sworn…she shook her head at the thought. She walked the few steps to her half open widow and leapt gracefully up onto the sill and slipped inside her room. It felt unfamiliar to her as she paused for a second, taking her time to examine her surroundings. She had been away from home for a few weeks now, training with all her might in the hope that she would be able to defeat Itachi. She picked up the stray pieces of clothing and hung them up in her wardrobe. Hoshiko stared in the mirror on her wardrobe door.

" _Return to your home. The Uchiha may be planning his attack in the next few days…you must be prepared._ "

Those were the parting words Danzo had left her with. Hoshiko glared at her reflection. She gripped the door and slammed it shut so hard the glass shattered. It was a few seconds later when Hoshiko heard a knock on the door.

"Hoshiko?" Her mother called out. "Is that you? Are you ok?"

Hoshiko shut her eyes for a second, reigning in her anger as she took a deep breath and looked at the mess she had made on the floor. "It's me. I'm sorry I'll be out in a second." Hoshiko didn't receive a reply so she assumed that her mother had walked off to leave her. Hoshiko quickly cleaned up the mess and then left the sanctuary of her room.

She could hear her mother in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Hoshiko slowly walked out into the open area, taking her time to examine the pictures hanging on the wall. Hoshiko breathed in the smell of her mothers cooking, feeling and hearing her stomach rumble. She emerged into the kitchen, staring at her mothers back as she cooked. Hiroka seemed to sense her presence as she turned slightly, "I'm glad you're home. You're always away now." Hoshiko could hear the slight pout.

"That's my duty."

"I know," Hiroka sighed. "I just miss you is all."

Suddenly Hiroka felt the thin arms of Hoshiko wrap around her stomach, her daughter pressing her face into her shoulder blade. Hoshiko held onto her tightly, her eyes clamped shut as she fought back the tears threatening to spill over.

"I'm sorry…" Hoshiko whispered.

Hiroka placed her hands over Hoshiko's. "Sorry for what? Are you ok?"

Hoshiko pulled away, walking backwards until she hit the wall, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Hiroka continued to stare at Hoshiko, a worried look on her face. "I know it's only been a few weeks since Shisui's death." Hoshiko visibly winced at the mention of his name. "But you haven't been the same since then. I just want to know that you're ok."

"I'm fine." Hoshiko said, firmly. "I've been on missions, protecting the village. I'm just tired."

"I understand…" Hiroka sighed sadly, knowing that her daughter was lying to her.

They ate in silence; once they were finished Hoshiko excused herself, telling her mother that she would be in her room for a while. Once Hoshiko was alone in her room she immediately went to her desk and fished out some paper and a pen. She sat down at her chair and then began to write her letter.

* * *

Hoshiko had an ominous feeling in her gut as she stood atop the Hokage monument. The full moon was already half way up in the sky, lighting up the village of Konoha for her to see clearly with her sharp gaze. It was around eight at night; lights still flickered on for the most part in the village. The wind that blew around her was extremely chilly, but Hoshiko didn't feel anything through the long sleeves of her black shirt and armor. Her hair was bound tightly in a ponytail. Her Wakizashi was secured to her back and her weapon pouches stocked full.

Her gaze scanned over the village once more, and as they lingered over the Uchiha compound on the far right, something had her leaping off the monument and towards it. There weren't any lights on in the Uchiha compound…

 **X**

Her heart was pounding in her chest; blood was pulsing through her veins as she ran as fast as she could, jumping over roofs and sprinting through the alleyways. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ She screamed to herself over and over again. She should've been paying more attention; she should've seen the signs sooner!

Hoshiko landed at the entrance to the Uchiha compound, she expanded her senses and her mouth dropped open in horror when she couldn't feel a single thing. Without thinking she sprinted under the archway and into the compound.

She skidded to a halt when she saw the first bodies. Her hand flew to her mouth to cover her shocked scream. Dark patches of blood were splattered all over the ground, pooling around the bodies. Faces were frozen in fear, silent screams lingering on their cold lips. Hoshiko couldn't believe her eyes, she shook her head, steeling her gaze ahead she took off running again. There was one place she needed to check.

 _Please! Please don't let him be dead!_ Hoshiko cried in her head as she neared the Uchiha mansion.

"Sasuke!" Hoshiko screamed at the top of her lungs. She wrenched the door open, flinging it off its hinges. "Sasuke!" She called again into the dark house. She used her senses once again to locate anyone alive. Hoshiko gasped when she felt a flicker of chakra deeper in the house. It wasn't enough to tell her who it was but she felt it nonetheless.

"Sasuke!"

Hoshiko ran through the house, running along the outside veranda as she came to the large wooden doors and pushed them open. "Sas—"

Her words died off as her silver gaze landed on the two bodies lying on the floor. Dark blood pooled around them, their bodies twisted together. "No!" Hoshiko cried, running forwards and dropping to her knees.

"Mikoto-san! Fugaku-san!" Hoshiko identified the flicker of chakra belonging to Mikoto as she pulled the woman onto her lap, holding her head in her hands.

"Mikoto-san!" Hoshiko cried. A tear rolled down her cheek, it dripped off and fell onto Mikoto's chin. Hoshiko tried to wipe the blood off of her cheek but it smeared even more. "Mikoto-san, please wake up…" Hoshiko begged. To her shock Mikoto's eyelids fluttered.

"Hoshi…ko…"

"I'm here, I'm going to help you. Just hang on!" Hoshiko sobbed, trying to think of anything that could help the woman. As Hoshiko's eyes glanced up and down her body, she saw a single stab wound to the chest. It was a wonder that she was still alive.

"Please…do not…hate…my son. Sasuke…tell him…" Her words died off, her eye's growing distant and glassy.

"Mikoto?" Hoshiko called, shaking her shoulders gently. "Mikoto!" Hoshiko bellowed. It was no use. The Uchiha matriarch had passed.

* * *

Hoshiko was running through the compound again, her destination was to find Sasuke. She could feel his chakra fluctuating up ahead. She was relieved that he was alive but scared as to what had happened to the clan. Hoshiko jumped up to the roof and dropped to the ground. She spotted Sasuke lying on the floor face down.

"Sasuke!" Hoshiko cried out. The child didn't stir as she fell to her knees and pulled him to her. "Sasuke, wake up."

"He will not wake." A voice said. "At least not for a while."

Hoshiko jumped at the presence. In her emotional state she had let her senses slip, causing the man who had spoken to sneak up on her. Hoshiko lifted her head to see him. His red gleaming eyes bearing down on her. His forehead protector glinted in the moonlight as Hoshiko's eyes wondered to his Wakizashi hanging by his side, stained with blood.

"Itachi…" Hoshiko whispered. The Uchiha remained stoic as the two teens continued to hold each other's gazes. Hoshiko was the one to break the connection; her eyes darted around the street. She saw the hacked bodies, lying in pools of their own tears and blood. She turned her gaze back to Itachi. Her eyes narrowed into slits. Her hands began to shake in fury. "What have you _done_?"

"I am no longer bound by the chains of a clan and village. I have proved my power tonight," Itachi replied monotonously.

"So you decided to murder you entire clan?" Hoshiko screeched.

The corner of Itachi's lips quirked into a smirk, "I had to test the limits of my power."

Hoshiko placed Sasuke back down onto the ground carefully and she rose to her feet. In a second she had a _Raikiri_ formed in her hand as she launched herself at Itachi. She was inches from the Uchiha when he started to disappear in a flock of crows. Hoshiko expected this.

"If you wish to compete against me, Ginyoru Hoshiko. I am sure you can find me." Itachi's voice echoed around her as the crows disappeared from her sight. Hoshiko let the jutsu go as she expanded her senses. She could feel his chakra; it was near the edge of the village. If Hoshiko was right, he was waiting for her in the clearing where they used to train.

Hoshiko took a step, and then stopped herself as she looked over her shoulder at the unconscious Sasuke. From her position she could see the tears that streamed down his face, even though he was still out. His little chest was heaving, suffering from the attack his beloved elder brother had put him through. Her heart was torn. Should she stay with Sasuke and care for him? Help him through this. Or should she avenge him, take revenge for his clan. Kill the murderer that did this to him?

She felt Itachi's chakra signature in the back of her mind, it was like a glowing beacon. It was like he was taunting her. Hoshiko faced her back to Sasuke as she slammed her eyes shut. "Forgive me, Sasuke." She whispered to herself. Even though her body was screaming at her to stay behind, to let the traitor go…she couldn't. She would not let Itachi walk away after this. First it was Shisui, and now his clan. He needed to be stopped, and she was going to do it.

 **X**

It didn't take her long to reach the clearing. There was no reason for Itachi to set off any traps or run from her, he wanted her to come. She walked calmly into the clearing; she had to keep telling herself to remain calm. She would never be able to defeat Itachi if she rushed in there. She had to be cool and calculating. She thought back on her lessons she had with him, Kakashi and the training Danzo had given her. She could do this. She had to.

The first thing she noticed was that Itachi was leaning casually against the boulder, his eyes dark. His arms crossed as he stared at her, watching her walk into the clearing. "I didn't think you would come." He commented.

Hoshiko hardened her gaze, coming to a stop as she reached for her Wakizashi, "I promised you that the next time we met, it would be your last."

"Hn." Itachi smirked. He pushed off the boulder. "It cannot be helped. You always were a nuisance."

Hoshiko grit her teeth. She couldn't let his words get to her; he was just trying to antagonize her. "Tell me Itachi. When did you forsake yourself? When did you turn your back on your Will of Fire?"

Itachi remained silent.

"Was it before or after you murdered Shisui? Or before that, when you turned your back on this village and everyone in it?"

Itachi drew his now clean Wakizashi; he twisted it in his hand as the metal reflected the moonlight. "The goals of this village and my own are two different things. I cannot be tied down to a place that will not help me further my own goals."

"And what about Sasuke?" Hoshiko demanded. Her heart ached for the child, witnessing his brother slaughter his family was gut wrenching. "He is your brother. He idolized you."

"He is a foolish child." Itachi stated. "He is nothing. The weak cannot survive in this world."

"And me?" Hoshiko asked sternly. Her grip was painfully tight on her weapon. She was ready for this. She needed to end this.

Itachi regarded her with an impassive stare, "You were…" He said slowly, as if thinking on his next choice of words, but Hoshiko knew that he was just wasting time. "Merely a well placed distraction, but you served your purpose as did the clan."

"You're a sick bastard, you know that?" Hoshiko spat at him, a swirling storm behind her eyes.

Itachi clutched his sword by his face as he crouched slightly into a defensive stance, his Sharingan whirling to life. Hoshiko copied him, bending her knees as she stared the Uchiha down. And like an internal timer had gone off in both of their heads, Itachi and Hoshiko rushed at each other.

Their swords clashed, sparks flying into the air. Hoshiko spun her sword, using a different angle as she brought it down but Itachi blocked it and kicked at her legs. Hoshiko twisted out of the way and tried to roundhouse kick him in the side but he flashed out of the way. Hoshiko felt his chakra behind her as she blocked his sword with her own. She turned sharply and advanced towards him. Her blade sliced through the air, the only sounds in the forest were that of their swords meeting in a deadly dance. Hoshiko weaved and jumped, avoiding his attacks quickly and effortlessly. She was inwardly pleased with herself.

 _Finally, I'm holding my own against him!_ She smiled in delight as their swords met once again. Her eyes were focused on his hands and body movements, she knew the second she looked into his Sharingan that it would be over for her.

"You've improved." Itachi stated.

"Didn't think you'd notice," Hoshiko remarked, smirking as she back-flipped out of the way, Itachi's kunai skimming her neck. Hoshiko ran at him again and while he was distracted with her, her clone made her move. Before Hoshiko had stepped into the clearing she had prepared herself. She had made four clones without being detected and hid them far enough away that Itachi wouldn't sense them until the last second. Her clone came leaping out from the trees, a _Raikiri_ in her hand.

Itachi's Sharingan quickly focused on the clone, he feinted surprise but slammed his foot into the real Hoshiko's chest as she went flying back. He faced the clone head on. With the advantage of his Sharingan he managed to dodge at the last second. The _Raikiri_ grazed the side of his face, drawing blood. The clone quickly recovered as she lunged for Itachi, the two were locked in a battle. Itachi dodged all of her attacks as the clone tried to land a hit on the Uchiha.

All of a sudden Itachi felt another presence, he turned just in time to see another clone appear from the trees. He watched as the clone made the hand seals for a _Katon_ jutsu. His Sharingan instantly recognized it as he thought of an escape. The first clone was running for him again, the _Raikiri_ still in her hand. When the clone was near him Itachi dodged, kicking his foot into her side the clone stumbled into the blazing fire of the _Katon_ and disappeared in a burst of electricity. Itachi then performed his own _Katon_ with milliseconds to spare. Both _Katon's_ connected, burning the trees and surrounding grass with their intensity.

 **X**

Hoshiko groaned, wiping the side of her mouth with the back of her hand. Itachi's kick had sent her flying into the nearest tree. The force of it had snapped the trunk in half. Her back killed and her hair had come loose from the impact. She could sense her clone and Itachi still locked in a _Katon_ battle. Good, things were going according to her plan. Her two other clones were in position now that he was fully distracted. Hoshiko picked up her Wakizashi that was lying a few feet away from her as she stumbled to her feet.

Taking a deep breath and preparing herself for the next attack she rushed back into the fight. Itachi and her clone released their jutsu's as they jumped away from each other, the clone positioning herself correctly. Itachi glanced over his shoulder at Hoshiko, who gripped her sword and then it suddenly lit up in blue and yellow electricity. Hoshiko flung the sword, aiming directly for Itachi's head as the Uchiha titled his head to the side and dodged it effortlessly.

"Pathetic." He said softly.

The smirk that Hoshiko gave him unnerved him.

"Now!" She yelled. Hoshiko made quick hand seals as two clones suddenly popped up unexpectedly from the earth. Itachi's Sharingan couldn't focus on the three at once which made it possible for them to implement their jutsu. " _Raiton: Shichū Shibari!"_ All three slammed their hands down onto the ground as three pillars rose up from the ground. A net of lightning encased Itachi in as the Uchiha stared in awe of the jutsu. He had never seen something like this before.

"Still think that throw was pathetic?" Hoshiko questioned. Grinning at Itachi maliciously as the Uchiha tossed a look over his shoulder. His eyes widened a fraction when he saw the clone that had been standing behind him holding the lightning Wakizashi in her hand. The clone grinned and plunged the sword into the ground while yelling, " _Raiton: Shōgekiha!_ "

Lightning ran from the sword and across the ground, it hit the pillars and the electric netting as Itachi was electrocuted.

Hoshiko's smile dropped from her face, as her jutsu neared its end. As she stood there she couldn't help but feel like that had been all too easy. This was Itachi; she hadn't really expected to be able to capture him in the jutsu. Hoshiko and her clones watched as the electricity faded away, and at the same time the three pillars shattered into pieces, reflecting the moonlight. Looking like tiny cherry blossom petals.

In the middle, Itachi was on all fours. He was breathing heavily; burns dotted his skin with his clothes singed in most places. Hoshiko didn't feel satisfaction.

"Itachi…" Hoshiko sighed sadly.

In a split second Itachi was on his feet. A kunai was drawn and he was in front of her within a second. His Sharingan morphed into Mangekyō, "Tsukuyomi!"

Hoshiko's eyes suddenly went wide, and then they went vacant. She dropped to her knees. Itachi stared down at her; "You always did drop your guard at the most critical points."

Hoshiko unexpectedly disappeared in a burst of electricity. Itachi cursed in his head, the Hoshiko he had just put under his Genjutsu was a clone. A moment later he felt the cool metal of a kunai press up against his jugular.

"And you never could tell the difference between me and a clone." Hoshiko growled, pressing the weapon slightly harder. Looking down Hoshiko saw the tip of Itachi's kunai placed at a critical point at her abdomen. "Looks like we're at an impasse."

She saw the corner of Itachi's mouth pull up into a smile, "Do you think me a fool?"

Hoshiko smirked, "Is that a trick question?"

There was a beat of silence before Itachi's form began to morph and disappear into a flock of crows.

"What?" Hoshiko gasped in disbelief. "No! That's impossible!" Hoshiko dropped the kunai as she watched as her surroundings began to fade away into a stark white. "I didn't look into your eyes!"

"You did…" Itachi's voice echoed. "When you first stepped into the clearing. You do it unintentionally but you always seek out my eyes. It probably doesn't even register to you that you're doing it."

Hoshiko gripped the sides of her head. _No! No no no no!_ She had played right into his hands.

"Itachi!"

* * *

She spotted him standing a few meters away. His back was to her as he faced the village from atop the Hokage monument. Hoshiko glanced down at herself. She was no longer in her ANBU clothes, but dressed simply in her short-sleeved shirt and navy trousers. She felt her head for her Hitai-ate, but was surprised when it wasn't there. She looked over at Itachi, who seemed to be frozen to the ground. He wasn't wearing his ANBU gear and from what she could tell his own protector was gone.

Steeling herself Hoshiko walked quietly up to him. She cast her gaze over the village, seeing the setting sun cast shadows over it. Sunset was her favorite time of day, and this was also her favorite place to come. Hoshiko came to a stop, side by side with Itachi as she turned to look at him.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Itachi turned his face slowly, hesitant to meet her gaze but he did nonetheless. He was entirely captivated by how she looked. In his Genjutsu, there were no marks of their battle. Her hair was shining against the sunlight, her eyes twinkling.

Itachi shook his head at her, answering her question. Hoshiko frowned at him, shrugging her shoulders, "Then what is this?"

Itachi turned away from her, looking out over the village. "A chance." He said softly. "To say goodbye."

Hoshiko swallowed the large lump in her throat. She was at a loss for words. "Will I remember any of this?" She asked hesitantly. It took him a moment but Itachi shook his head. "Then why…"

Itachi faced her, turning his whole body. "Because I am selfish. Or better yet…you make me selfish, Hoshiko. You are the only person who has made me question my decisions, who could take away the burden of what I had to do. You made me feel like a human again. Because of that, I tried to distance myself from you, to keep you out of harms way. And I inadvertently drove you into the arms of the person I should've been protecting you from. For that, forgive me."

Hoshiko didn't notice the tears that had started to leak down her cheeks. "I didn't need your protection. I wanted your friendship." Itachi bowed his head in remorse. Hoshiko wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "So…everything that's happened…"

"What Danzo told you were fabricated lies. To turn you against me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hoshiko exclaimed, stepping closer to him. "I could've helped you!"

"Danzo would've had you killed." Itachi stated sternly. "Innocent blood had already been spilt by him. I would not let him hurt you."

It all suddenly clicked for her. Hoshiko's eyes widened, her mouth parted in shock, "Shisui…" If Itachi's silence was anything to go by, Hoshiko knew that she was right. Her shock morphed into anger as she lashed out and shoved Itachi hard, the Uchiha stumbled under the force of it. "You bastard! You let me believe…" She paused, remembering the horrible things she had accused him of weeks ago. Her vision became blurry as tears built up again. "Why did you let me believe that you had killed him?"

Itachi sighed, "It was easier to have you hate me."

Hoshiko pressed her lips into a firm line; she wanted to smack Itachi so hard his teeth would fall out. "What about your clan? What do they have to do with this?" She pressed.

Itachi looked away, "I cannot say. But know that what I have done was for the safety of this village. For Sasuke. For you."

"For me?" Hoshiko was surprised.

Itachi smirked at her, "Can you not understand why I pushed you away? Why I let you believe I had killed my best friend. Why, even though I warned you to stay away from me, I always found myself gravitating back to you?"

Hoshiko felt her heart race; her cheeks began to redden as she took one step back. But Itachi closed it with a step of his own. "I-I don't know."

"I think you do." Itachi challenged.

Hoshiko took another step back and felt her foot slip slightly. Glancing over her shoulder she saw that she was standing on the edge of the stone, another step and she would plunge off the Thirds face. She looked Itachi dead in the eyes, grateful that he was staring at her with his onyx eyes and not the cursed Sharingan.

"Why me? I was horrible to you as a child. Even now, I said terrible and hurtful things. How could you feel that way about me?" Hoshiko asked. Noticing how Itachi was creeping closer.

Hoshiko held her breath as she watched Itachi's hand slowly reach out to caress the side of her face. His fingers brushed over her cheek gently. The touch was new to both of them, neither having ever been this intimate with one another…or anyone in general. Itachi felt the smoothness of her skin under his fingertips, putting it to memory. He was so close to her now. So close that he knew if he listened carefully, he could probably hear the loud beating of her heart. He could see faint flecks of blue in her silver eyes. He could see the few freckles that she had over her nose and chin.

"Because…" Itachi said, his hand creeping back to her neck as he felt goosebumps appear under his hand from Hoshiko's skin. "You were the only one to see me as Itachi, the boy. Not Uchiha Itachi the clan heir and prodigy."

Hoshiko lost all coherent thought. Her anger at Itachi was gone. She had known, deep down that he could never have killed Shisui, that everything had been a lie. Danzo had used and manipulated her. She felt guilty. But all that was gone as she watched Itachi lean down to her. He used little force on the back of her neck to pull her to him as his lips met hers.

It was a simple kiss. A goodbye kiss. Their lips molded against each other. Hoshiko lost herself in her feelings. His lips were soft and gentle, exactly as she had once or twice imagined them to be. She had never really thought about her feelings towards Itachi. She always thought it was because he was her closest friend, but now that she thought back on it. Maybe she had always cared for him, it was only now that they were older that those feelings could develop into something more. She had always imagined her feelings towards him to be unrequited. Itachi wasn't exactly the easiest person to read, but now she could see it. Over the years, they had both unknowingly fallen in love.

A single tear slipped out from under Hoshiko's lid. The thing that pained her most was that Itachi told her she wouldn't remember this. This was an illusion, a Genjutsu that he had placed her under to stop their fight. This was their goodbye…

Itachi pulled away from her, his hand moving back to cup her cheek. He leaned into her ear; "If I have one left…I leave my heart with you, Hoshiko…"

Hoshiko jerked her head up to meet his onyx gaze one last time. Itachi gave her a sad smile.

And then he pushed her off the monument.

* * *

Hoshiko's body jolted awake. She was lying on the grass in the clearing she had encountered Itachi. She winced as a sharp pain rang out in her head. All her senses were overloaded, especially her chakra network.

 _What the hell happened?_ Hoshiko thought to herself. She looked around. There were no scorch marks. No broken trees. Hoshiko remembered, Itachi had placed her under a Genjutsu from the very beginning…and now he was gone. Hoshiko tried to use her chakra senses but was hit with a blinding pain as she curled in on herself from the pain.

It settled down after a minute as she pushed herself up onto her shaky feet. She scanned the area in front of her, she felt naked without the use of her chakra senses to see if anyone was nearby. She had to find Itachi. Their fight wasn't over yet. She didn't care if it took her ten years to locate him.

"I will find—"

Her words were lost as she felt an excruciating pain erupt from her chest. Blood bubbled out of her mouth as she cast her gaze down, seeing metal protruding out of her chest. She couldn't even form a scream as her body suddenly lost all strength as she collapsed to the floor. She didn't even feel her body hitting the ground. All she could feel was her blood draining quickly from her body. Each limb felt like it was weighed down with stones. Her eyes were shutting; it was getting harder to breath. The last thing she saw before falling into darkness was a white and grey robe.

 **X**

Danzo stood above Hoshiko's motionless body, "Useless child. You had one job, and you couldn't even complete it."

Danzo's Root agent stood beside him, hands held behind his back, "Should I take her body back to Headquarters, Danzo-sama?"

He shook his head, "No, leave it here. We'll wait for someone to find her. It won't be hard to say the Uchiha did this as he left the village. Besides, maybe feeding the wildlife will be the only thing that girl was useful for."

"Of course." His agent bowed.

Danzo turned on his heel, his robe sweeping out as he walked away from the scene, "There are many things we must attend to. Now that Hiruzen has formally disbanded Root we must work even harder to achieve our goals."

Once the two had faded from sight, a figure moved out from behind a large tree. They had witnessed Hoshiko's demise. They quickly and quietly moved to her limp body and began to drag her away. Noticing that her chest was still rising and falling.

* * *

 _Okaa-san,_

 _If you're reading this then it means that I'm no longer around to stop you from finding it. I'm sure by now you must have heard the news...there are many things I wish to say to you right now, but I'm afraid if I put it into words I won't have the strength to do what I have to do. I can imagine the pain you must be feeling right now, and for that I am truly sorry. I wish things could have been different. I wish I could tell you everything, but I know that if I did it would put you in harms way. You are the last person I ever wanted to hurt._

 _Please don't cry too much. You can cry though, it's ok to cry...you taught me that. Know that I will forever be by your side. And know that this was entirely my decision. I knew what I was getting myself into when I stepped out of our home for the last time. I knew that there was a chance that I would never see you again. That was my duty as a Leaf Kunoichi. I never really understood that until now...growing up with everyone hating me. I never thought that I would come to love the village as much as I do now. As I write this letter to you, I'm thinking back on learning about the Will of Fire. All children are taught about it in the academy. It's what drives us to protect the things we love._

 _Okaa-san, you taught me what it was to be a strong person. You taught me how to accept everyone and their flaws. You are an amazing person, you never held any resentment towards this village for treating us cruelly. You put up with so much from me, but I guess that is the love of a mother. And I am eternally grateful knowing that when I die, I know that your love for me with carry me to the afterlife._

 _If you ever need help, or feel unsafe...go to Kakashi-senpai. He will protect you as I'm no longer around to do it. Everyone has enemies, and I'm afraid that I still have some lingering in the shadows._

 _Above all else, Okaa-san, I love you. I love you so much and again I am so sorry for doing this to you...but if anything good can come out of this...hopefully with my death I helped protect this village...and now, finally, I can tell Otou-san everything that I've been able to do._

 _-Hoshiko_

* * *

 **Well guys it finally happened. The Massacre finally came and destroyed me. I put off writing this chapter so much which is why it took me forever to get it out, just because of the fact that I knew it was going to be hard but I am extremely pleased with how I pulled it off.**

 **I know some people thought that I might have Hoshiko pull off the massacre but I stuck with the canon, but this isn't the end. We still have a lotttttttt more to happen with these two. Oh and yeah...they kissed...but she won't remember. Sadface. I wonder if she'll ever find out in the future? wink wink.**

 **Also I wish I could draw...sigh I have so many image ideas in my head that I wish I could draw of these two..if you guys no anyone who does fanart or stuff like that let me know because it would be my utmost dream to have art of these two and some iconic scenes between them. Other then that I think my heart is pretty much broken for these two so I'm going to go and eat copius amounts of chocolate and watch the royal wedding.**

 **Also I did some perusing on Youtube and I found a song that I feel represents Itachi and Hoshiko. Check out 's cover of ZAYN and Sia's song Dusk Till Dawn. It's pretty amazing and reminds me of them so much!**

 **Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!**

 **REPLIES**

lizyeah2000 - I feel horrible for writing them into these situations :(

Dark Rose Charm - I know these last few chapters have been so hard to write because I've been thoroughly upset about everything :( I just want the happy ending already...but we're going to have to wait a while for that I'm afraid.

Me And Not You 1001 - Poor Itachi is correct. Poor everyone involved pretty much. Fuck Danzo. Can't wait to kill him off xd xd xd

DoctorBoo24 - Omgosh thank youu! Sorry it took me a lil longer to get this chapter out I wanted it perfect!

AugustRush - Thank you so much! Honestly that means everything to me to hear you say that! I promise to you all that in the end there will be a happy ending, we've just got to carry on through!

Davina - The part I teared up the most was the letter to her mother. Just because I can relate to it so much...it hit me hard right in the feels. And you'know, thier kiss and everything


	21. The Road is Long

_The Road is Long._

 **Onyx and Ivory  
**

* * *

"Final body count; three hundred and seventy two."

The Third Hokage sighed deeply, his eyes shutting in remorse, "There are two survivors, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. Who is the other person we are counting?" Hiruzen asked his ANBU.

"According to witnesses, Ginyoru Hoshiko was slain by Itachi."

"What witnesses?" He asked sharply. Hiruzen couldn't believe that. He knew the real reason why Itachi had killed his clan; he refused to admit that the selfless boy would kill his friend.

"Me." Danzo said, entering the office.

"Danzo…" Hiruzen grumbled in displeasure.

Danzo hobbled up to the desk, the ANBU bowing and leaving them alone to talk. "I feel as if I am partly to blame for this unfortunate attack." Danzo faked his guilt.

"What have you done now?"

Danzo went and sat on the couch at the side of the room, "After taking young Hoshiko under my wing in Root and sending her on missions, she became very isolated. When news of Uchiha Shisui's death reached her she was adamant that Itachi was to blame."

"It was a suicide," Hiruzen said, lighting up his pipe.

Danzo nodded in agreement, "Yes, but she refused to believe it. She then deserted Root, seeking out to kill Itachi. I fear that because of her training she was a threat to him and because Itachi could not reveal anything about the Coup he made the decision to end her life to protect himself."

"It doesn't seem like him." Hiruzen sighed. The loss of the Uchiha and Hoshiko in one night was a devastating loss for the village.

"I trained her myself, Hiruzen. I know what she's like…I saw her body for myself. My men have taken her back to headquarters and she will be released to her mother for burial." Danzo gritted his teeth. That wasn't true at all. In fact he had no idea where Hoshiko's body was. When his men had gone back to fetch her from the forest they had returned saying that she was gone. Danzo was sure that she had to be dead; he had impaled her sword right through her chest. She had bled out almost her entire bloodstream before he had left her.

Danzo stood up from the couch; "It was an unfortunate night for everyone." Danzo left the room. Hiruzen sat in the dark, smoking the rest of his pipe. For once, he felt at a loss for what to do.

* * *

The first thing she felt was pain, a scalding pain in her chest. Then she could feel movement, she felt like she was flying on clouds. She didn't have the energy to open her eyes to see where she was, but every so often she would hear a soft voice, feel a gentle caress. She was drifting in an out of consciousness. She had no sense of time, seconds could have passed or days. One thing was for sure. She was alive and Danzo had tried to kill her. She would recognize the robes she saw anywhere. She could remember in her last moments of consciousness that she had heard him speak.

When she came to for about the fifth time she was slightly more aware of herself, the pain in her chest was still burning. It hurt to breathe, but at least it told her that she was alive. How was she alive though? She had felt the sword impale her right in the center of her chest, surely there was no way a medic could have healed her in time, she had bled out too quickly.

For the first time since being stabbed, Hoshiko was able to open her eyes. Her pupil less silver eyes cracked open. Her lids felt heavy and it was a fight to keep them open but she managed. She glanced around the room she was in, seeing nothing familiar. It looked like she was in a simple rural home. Tatami lined the floor and she was lying on a soft futon. Hoshiko lay there for a little longer, letting her body adjust to being awake again. When she felt she was ready she moved her arms and tried to push herself up. A sharp pain shot through her chest as she cried out and slumped back onto the futon, panting.

Seconds later, the shoji door was opened hastily and a woman stepped into the room, "You're awake."

Hoshiko looked over at the woman, her guard instantly going up. Her cautious expression changed to that of shock as she recognized her, "Aishi?"

Aishi smiled down at her. It was her, the fortuneteller she had met in Hanabira when Hoshiko and Itachi had gone on their ANBU mission to locate the missing children. Her long sandy blonde hair was braided over her shoulder and her coal black eyes searched her face for something.

Aishi came and knelt down next to Hoshiko, "You shouldn't move. Your body is still healing."

Hoshiko frowned at her and then glanced down at her body. The sheet that had been covering her and slipped when she had tried to get up. Her chest was bound, with gauze and tissues placed in the center. "I was stabbed."

"I know." Aishi said softly, "I saw." Hoshiko gazed at her again, silently asking her to explain. "Sometimes during the year I travel to Konoha, I have a friend who lives there and I do some tea readings for her and her family. On the last night before I was departing I was drinking from my cup and it cracked. It was the same cup you had drank from when you came to me so I knew something was wrong."

"How did you find me?" Hoshiko asked. Her voice sounded hoarse and croaky from being out for so long.

"My father was a shinobi, he taught me some things before he passed away. I found you in the forest and waited until that man had left before I took you away."

"How am I alive?" Hoshiko asked, gesturing to her chest. "I thought for sure that I was dead…"

Aishi gave her a knowing look. Hoshiko then took in her appearance; she had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks looked hollow. Hoshiko squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm sorry. I would never want to her anyone."

"It's alright," Aishi said, placing her hand on her shoulder. "You only took what you needed to survive. Your body has been healing on it's own, but I fear it will be a long time before you are fully healed. There are no shinobi medics in this village, only our own healers."

Hoshiko was silent for a moment before she sighed, "Thank you. You didn't have to do this." Hoshiko glanced around the unfamiliar room. "Where am I?"

"Sadao's farm house," Aishi said with a smile. "When I arrived in Hanabira with you Sadao agreed to take you in. It's the least we could do for what you did for us."

Hoshiko rubbed her face, feeling sore but alert. "How long have I been out?"

Aishi looked at her nervously, "Three weeks."

Hoshiko's jaw dropped, "What? No, I have to get out of here!" she cried, pushing herself up.

"Hoshiko, stop, you can't!" Aishi tried to push her back onto the futon without hurting her.

Angry tears appeared at the corner of Hoshiko's eyes, "No you don't understand! I have to go home! They need me!" In the struggle, a sharp pain ripped through her chest, causing her to clutch at it and scream in pain.

Aishi caught her before she hit the futon, placing her down gently, "Hoshiko…I know what happened. News travels fast when something like this happens…"

Hoshiko stared at her with wet eyes; she could feel her heart breaking all over again. She could remember running into the Uchiha compound, seeing the mangled corpses. Calling out for Sasuke and then finding his parents murdered in their own home. Finding Sasuke after _he_ had placed him under a strong Genjutsu and then trying to fight _him_ and failing…again.

"The boy…the one you came here with…" Aishi whispered. Hoshiko squeezed her eyes shut; she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about _him_. "He…"

"He killed his clan," Hoshiko finished for her. "I tried to stop him…but I failed."

"No." Aishi said as she reached out and took Hoshiko's hand in her own, "You did everything you could. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

"I have everything to be ashamed of!" Hoshiko winced as the outburst irritated her injury.

Aishi looked down at her compassionately, "You need to rest. I understand you want to return home, but in your state you will most likely die. Please, rest. You will be well enough soon."

Hoshiko ripped her hand out of Aishi's, giving her a glare as she turned her head away from her. She couldn't yet roll onto her side because of her chest injury. Aishi took this as a sign that Hoshiko was done talking. She rose to her feet and opened up the door, before she left Aishi glanced over her shoulder. "I am sorry, truly." The last thing Aishi heard was Hoshiko's quiet sobs.

 **X**

Four days passed. Four long and painful days for Hoshiko. Her strength was slowly returning to her day by day. She was now eating solid foods and drinking regularly. She could now sit up unassisted but needed help standing and walking. She felt like an old woman, especially since her helper was always Ren. The child she had saved when her and Itachi had rescued the children. In some ways Hoshiko found similarities in Ren and Sasuke, and she wouldn't feel so homesick. Ren was eleven now, older then Sasuke but just as annoying.

He was always asking her questions about being a Kunoichi, things like 'what's it like to jump through trees?' or 'how many people have you killed'. Hoshiko couldn't answer that, as she didn't know herself. Every night her dreams were plagued with bodies, the bodies she had seen on the ground of the Uchiha compound. She would dream of Itachi murdering his parents before her eyes, then he would laugh manically and kill her. Then she would wake up crying and gasping for air.

Ren would usually come running in, worried that maybe someone had come to kill Hoshiko. After he realized it were only nightmares he would sit with her until she fell asleep again.

On the morning of the fifth day, Hoshiko felt like she was ready to go outside. Or better yet, she _needed_ to go outside. She had been cooped up in this small room for almost four weeks. She hadn't bathed properly in four weeks. Aishi came round every other day to sponge bath her but nothing comparing to sinking in a hot spring or actual bath.

Hoshiko was currently propped up on a stack of pillows. Ren was feeding her breakfast because she was still too weak to hold her own bowl. It irritated Hoshiko to be so handicapped but she welcomed the help. It was either this or be dead.

"I want to go outside." Hoshiko stated to Ren once she had finished.

Ren set down the bowl, "Aishi-san says you aren't strong enough to go outside yet."

"I don't care," Hoshiko snapped.

Ren gave her a sympathetic look, "It's cold outside, Hoshiko. Sadao-san says that winter hits us earlier because we're so far north. It wouldn't be good for you."

Hoshiko had to give the kid credit, not many people could say they told Hoshiko she couldn't do what she wanted and lived to tell the tale. She sighed, "I don't care. I need to get out of here, Ren."

Ren ignored her completely as he collected the bowl once more, "I'll be back in a few hours, I need to help Sadao-san with—Hoshiko!" Ren yelled and dropped the bowl as he watched Hoshiko try to stand on her own.

Hoshiko was grunting and gritting her teeth against the pain as she tried to push herself up and onto her feet. Ren tried to protest against her getting up without help but Hoshiko continued to do it anyway. With a frown Ren hurried over to her side and helped her up.

Hoshiko wobbled as Ren tried to take most of her weight, "Aishi-san's going to kill me." Ren muttered under his breath.

Hoshiko could feel the sweat building up on her forehead but didn't have the strength to lift her arms up and wipe it away. When Ren thought she was stable enough to stand on her own for a few seconds he ducked down and grabbed her blanket, throwing it around her shoulders to keep her warm.

With her frail body leaning against the boy who was almost as tall as her, Hoshiko took slow steps onto the outside porch. Ren had opened the door for her as they both stepped outside into the chilly weather. It was overcast, the clouds dark and the wind biting. Hanabira was the northernmost village in the fire country. The land of Waterfalls bordered it so winter arrived early for the region than other parts. Hoshiko sucked in a deep breath, feeling the fresh air filling her lungs.

"We shouldn't stay out too long, it's not good for you," Ren commented. Hoshiko ignored him and continued her staggered walk. Her arm reached out to the nearby wooden post as her hand fastened around it tightly. When Ren was sure that she was able to hold herself up he let go of her and took a step back, leaving Hoshiko on her own for a bit. He had half a mind to stay with her and make sure that she would be ok, but he guessed she would want some time on her own, so he turned and walked back into the farmhouse.

Hoshiko heard him leave and was thankful for some time alone. She sucked in another deep breath of fresh air, and felt the sharp pain that came with it in her chest. Willing herself to be strong enough, Hoshiko held onto the post with one hand and slowly lowered herself down off the porch and onto the grass. She could feel the ache in her chest and body from tensing up but ignored it as her foot touched the cold and dewy ground. Even if it was cold, it meant that Hoshiko was feeling something; it was proof that she was still alive.

She took another step, releasing the post as she walked further out from the house. The little voice in her head told her that this was stupid; she was not well enough to be outside in the freezing cold. She could already feel the dizziness settling into her, the nausea was creeping up slowly but she pushed it away as best she could. She had been cooped up for so long, she wanted this time out here.

A breeze rustled her loose clothes, her knotted hair tickling her nose as she brushed it away tenderly and felt something wet land on her hand. Hoshiko put her hand in front of her face, enabling her to see the small snowflake melting against her skin. She tilted her head back, her silver eyes searching the sky as she began to see hundreds of tiny snowflakes falling from the heavens.

* * *

Two weeks later Hoshiko jolted awake from her sleep. This was a nightly occurrence for her. Every night she was plagued with nightmares. Sometimes it would be about the massacre; sometimes it would be fighting Itachi again. Other times, like tonight it would be of Danzo standing over her. She would be frozen to the ground, her hands and feet heavy as she watched Danzo plunge the sword into her chest again and again. She would scream, and it would only be after the fifth stab that she would finally wake up. Clutching at her chest, tears on her cheeks and her heart racing.

Hoshiko felt betrayed, not only by Itachi but by the village too. They hadn't stopped Itachi when they could've. Hoshiko had given her life to protect the village, and what had Danzo given her in return? An attempt on her life and an ugly scar to match. She had given so much to the village and she had been given nothing in return. Only death and heartache.

Hoshiko wiped the sweat from her forehead, pushing away the soaked strands of hair that had plastered themselves onto her clammy skin. She pushed herself up into a sitting position. Most of the pain had gone from her wound. It had been six weeks since she had been stabbed. Six weeks since she had probably been pronounced dead. As she thought on it, it didn't seem to bother her as much anymore.

So what if everyone thought she was dead? She had failed as a Kunoichi and as a friend to those who needed her. She didn't deserve to go home. Better yet, how could she face them? Especially Sasuke.

Sasuke. The boy she had treated like a little brother. The boy whose brother she had let slaughter his entire family. There was no way Hoshiko could face him after what had happened.

In a way Danzo was right…she had been useless. She hadn't stopped anything, she was to be used to help the village and yet nothing changed. The coup still happened and she deserved to be exiled.

Hoshiko stood up slowly. She still had to be careful with how she moved; otherwise she would get pains in her chest again. She padded across the tatami mats and to the mirror that hung on the wall. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The light from the small candle illuminating her room, she was fearful of sleeping in a dark room still. Worried about what might be lurking in the shadows.

She still sported dark bruises under her eyes from her restless nights. Her hair was limp and frail, her eyes dull. Hoshiko pulled the front of her shirt down to reveal the still healing scar. It sat center of her chest, about the length of her thumb. The skin was still pink and raw and she knew that a scar would stay with her forever.

Hoshiko thought back on her time as a Kunoichi, how since she was a child she had strived to be the best. She had given her all to be accepted by the village, to prove that she was worthy. In the end she had been cast aside, but isn't that was a Shinobi is supposed to be. Hadn't Itachi told her that a long time ago?

* * *

 _It was the night of the winter festival. After Itachi, Shisui and Hoshiko had taken their photo together the oldest Uchiha had run off, claiming to have seen a girl that he was supposedly dating._

 _Itachi and Hoshiko walked together through the streets, the snow was falling slowly now and Hoshiko was glad that she had brought her thick coat tonight. Itachi was escorting her home, like the gentleman he was._

" _Ne, Itachi?" Hoshiko suddenly said. Itachi glanced over at her, seeing her piercing silver gaze staring at him openly. "It's my ANBU test in a few weeks."_

" _Aa." The Uchiha replied, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers._

" _Do you think I'll pass?" Hoshiko asked him._

" _Aa."_

 _The girl glared at him, "Can you give more then a one word answer?"_

 _Itachi smirked slightly, "No."_

 _Hoshiko scoffed and shoved him lightly on the arm. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I hope I pass. I feel like it's the only way for everyone to see that I'm dedicated to the village. Once I'm ANBU, everyone will know who I am. Even you'll have to acknowledge me finally."_

" _You truly believe that is what being a Shinobi is about?" Itachi questioned her. "Being acknowledged by everyone?"_

" _Well no!" Hoshiko defended. "I mean…I don't know…I never really thought about it." Hoshiko glanced over at him again. She could see that his brows had been pulled together tightly, he was thinking about something. "Do you remember what Inoue-sensei used to say…about our Ninja way or something like that?"_

" _Aa."_

 _Hoshiko rolled her eyes at his blunt response. "Well, what's yours?"_

 _Itachi was silent for a few moments before he spoke again, "To work in the shadows to protect the peace of the village. That is what I believe a true Shinobi should be."_

* * *

Hoshiko's eyes narrowed at her reflection. _Instead of working in the shadows to bring peace, all you did was cause chaos._ She thought bitterly. Hoshiko faced away from the mirror. She had made her decision.

 _I gave my everything to the village. I'm done being their pawn. I'm done with being a Shinobi. I worked in the shadows to bring peace, but peace was out of my reach._

* * *

His head inclined at the sound of his door opening. "Uchiha-san?" A voice said. He recognized it immediately as Tobi, the personality that Madara fashioned around the others. The door closed as Itachi stood from his chair and faced the masked man. The younger Uchiha was garbed in the black cloak with red clouds. His slashed Hitai-ate secured across his forehead. On his finger was his 'Shu' ring.

"You seem to be settling in well." Madara commented, his voice changing. Itachi nodded his head. "The official report from the Massacre has been released. I think you'll find that something might interest you about it." Itachi turned away from him. "The lists of names were also released. Ginyoru Hoshiko was one of them. It was listed that you killed her."

"You think this interests me?" Itachi retorted, keeping his voice level.

"You were ANBU partners, weren't you?" Madara enquired.

Itachi cursed in his head. So Madara had known about that too, he must have been sneaking around Konoha longer then he thought. "Briefly. What has this got to do with anything?"

Madara chuckled, "Oh, nothing. It's a shame really. She was the last of a feared clan, she could've been useful to us."

"She got in the way. I eliminated her."

"Of course," Madara said with a slight nod of his head. "Well, I'll be leaving on a mission soon."

Itachi inclined his head in farewell, "As will I."

"Uchiha-san."

"Tobi." Itachi replied politely as the orange masked man exited his room. The door shut with a soft click as the younger Uchiha let his façade slip slightly. His eyes dropped to the floor, his mouth turning down slightly.

 _Dead…Danzo must've…I never made a deal with him to keep her safe, only Sasuke. Forgive me Shisui…I could not keep my promises to you._

* * *

"It suits you."

Hoshiko turned at the sound of Aishi's voice. Her silver eyes settled on the older woman, her long blonde hair loose as it fell around her shoulders and to her waist. Aishi's coal eyes always reminded her painfully of someone else's, but she had reminded herself that they weren't _his_. She was dressed in a long grey dress and coat, perfect for the cold winter day.

Hoshiko's fingers went to the tips of her newly cut hair, the ebony tips just brushing her shoulders. That night she had turned her back on being a Shinobi, she had taken a kunai to her own hair, hacking the long tresses off and watching them twist and float down to her feet. She had felt good, feeling like she was starting a new chapter of her life finally. She wouldn't be used by anyone anymore.

"I could have cut it for you, you know," Aishi said with a smirk as she sat down opposite her at the kitchen table. Hoshiko poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her.

"It was kind of sudden…" Hoshiko said quietly. Sipping the hot drink.

"I can tell." Aishi said with a smirk, hiding it behind her cup. Her smile dropped slightly. "So…you're pretty much all healed up by now. What do you plan on doing?"

Hoshiko met her gaze for a moment before dropping it down to her cup and twirling it around in her hands. "I'm not sure."

"I thought you wanted to go home, you practically almost gave yourself a hemorrhage all those weeks ago." Aishi said with a slight teasing tone.

Hoshiko sighed and rested her cheek on her hand, "Things changed…I've changed."

Aishi gave her a sympathetic look, "You know what happened wasn't your fault, right?"

Hoshiko looked away, "I know, but I can't help but feel guilty. For now, I want to regain the lost time that I had. I spent all my life trying to be this great Kunoichi. Someone who was acknowledged by everyone…but after everything that's happened…it's not important to me anymore."

Aishi reached across the table and grasped onto Hoshiko's free hand, "You know you are always welcome here. Sadao-san will gladly let you stay. We'll protect you here, no one will know who you were."

" _Arigato,_ Aishi." Hoshiko said with a weak smile. Sometimes Hoshiko forgot that she was only fourteen years old. After everything she had been through in her life, she felt at least twenty years older then what she was already. Maybe it was finally time for her to be her age, to care about the things normal civilian girls her age cared about.

"Well I'm glad you think that, because I have a surprise for you." Aishi said with a knowing glint in her eye.

Hoshiko smirked and rolled her eyes at her, "And what's that?"

Aishi stood up quickly and extended her hand down to the teenager, "Come on, I need to show you." Hoshiko eyed it wearily but reached for it anyway and let herself be helped up.

Hoshiko walked with Aishi through the streets of Hanabira. She was strong enough to be outside for hours now, but she hadn't tried any strenuous activities yet. She wasn't yet willing to exhaust her body yet, just being outside was good enough for her right now.

Hoshiko was bundled up in a coat and a head warmer that Aishi had borrowed her. Hanabira had been blanketed under a thick cover of snow for the past week, winter was definitely settling in. Aishi was chatting away in her ear exuberantly, talking about some customers that she had come to her over the past couple of weeks. She was still going strong with her fortune telling, and she would often ask Hoshiko if she wanted her to read her fortune again but she always declined. The fortune that Aishi had told her all those months ago was enough for one lifetime.

Not to mention that it had all come true…

They stopped outside of a small but busy teahouse. Aishi normally brought her dango and biscuits from here sometimes. "What are we doing here?" Hoshiko asked, glancing over at the taller woman.

Aishi gave her a knowing smile; she looped her arm through Hoshiko's and dragged her gently into the warm shop. Hoshiko shook off some of the snow as she glanced around the cozy building. Just over half a dozen tables and chairs were set out in the room; people drinking and eating occupied most of the tables. There was a counter with a middle-aged man serving behind it. Aishi pulled Hoshiko over to him.

"Takita-san!"

The man, with kind brown eyes and short dark hair smiled with he saw Aishi and wiped his hands down on his apron, "Aishi-chan. What a pleasure to see you here."

"Takita-san," Aishi said as she pulled Hoshiko into her side and gestured to her. "This is the girl I was telling you about. This is Fuyuko." Hoshiko recognized the fake name that they had come up with. It was still too dangerous for Hoshiko to use her true name still.

"Hello, Fuyuko," Takita said with a smile as he extended his hand over the counter for Hoshiko to shake.

Aishi bent her head closer to Hoshiko; "Takita-san was a close friend of my fathers before he passed away. I explained to him that a friend of mine was coming to live here from a nearby village and needed a place to work. Takita happily offered you a job." Hoshiko saw the wink Aishi gave her. It was the story that they had come up with. Hoshiko had a new name and was from another village. It was risky to say that she had recently come from Konoha.

"That's very kind of you, Takita-san." Hoshiko bowed in respect.

"Not a problem, girl. Any friend of Aishi's is a friend of mine. Can you start now?"

Hoshiko beamed, "Of course!" she said happily as Takita beckoned her around the counter as Hoshiko shrugged off her coat and tied on the apron that Takita handed to her.

Hoshiko watched as Aishi smiled at her, waved and started to walk out of the shop. Hoshiko waved back and silently thanked her, knowing that she would have to repay Aishi back with something special soon. It was now, as Hoshiko stood listening to the advice that Takita was giving her, that Hoshiko finally felt that she could be herself for once.

And that she could finally be at peace, with nothing to worry about.

But fate works in mysterious ways…

* * *

 **I am so sorry guys! I know it's been a while since I updated and I apologise so much. I know this chapter was a little boring but the next few will just be a little more like this until we have our first big time skip. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me so far and again I'm sorry for taking so long to get another chapter up. I will try and have another one up soon for you all!  
**

 **REPLIES**

blueeremartian - I'll miss Shisui too, but he'll be referenced and remembered all throughout this story in flashbacks and conversations as he was my fave character to write! Their kiss killed me literally i was so upset to do that to them but oh well hahah.

AugustRush - Thank you! Sorry it took me like actually forever to get a new one out!

mikan26 - Don't worry, i shed a tear for them more then once last chapter. I'm a horrible person but it'll all be worth it in the end, promise!

Guest - Thank you! Sorry it took me forever! Please enjoy!

Dark Rose Charm - Thank you! Yeah I felt horrible doing it but it really was a beautiful scene between them. I can't to write the reunion between them! It'll be epic let's say that! haha and yeah still can't wait for me to kill Danzo off

Alera33 - I cried too writing and reading it over. I'm horrible to them. As I said to someone else before, I can't wait to write their reunion!

Deepti917 - I know I'm horrible and no it's far from done. We've still got a long way to go before I'm finished with this story!

WindsRoar - Thank you! Sorry I never got in touch with you about the art, I really am forgetful most times!

lizyeah2000 - Danzo still a big ole bitch ahaha thank you!

abandonedforevermore - Same fam

PrismRootStarlight - Thank you so much! Sorry for the super long wait, i do apologise and I know this isn't the most exciting chapter but it will get better soon!

Pine Pair - Thank you! Sorry it took me forever!

 **Again thank you everyone! See you next time!**


	22. Peace

_Peace._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

 **3 Months Later.**

Hoshiko arose in the morning, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly. She dressed warmly in her winter clothes as the village was still in the brunt of the cold season. She made herself some hot tea in the kitchen and sipped on it quietly, listening to the loud snores of Sadao-san down the hall from the room. When she was done she cleaned up after herself and headed to the front door. She sat down and pulled on her thick boots and shrugged on her coat.

Once outside Hoshiko pulled the collar of her coat around her face tightly, bracing herself against the falling snow as she trudged through the layer of snow towards the village.

Four months she had been in Hanabira now. She had settled in nicely. She worked at the teashop everyday, then returned to Sadao's farm and helped prepare dinner for herself, Sadao and Ren. Most days Aishi would come by for dinner too. Hoshiko had settled into a routine, and she was fine with it. For her, there was something satisfying about knowing what you were going to do during the day. She didn't have to worry about missions, liars, and threats to her safety. She was serving tea and dango.

Hoshiko entered the teashop, shaking off the snow from her hair and coat as she greeted Takita who was standing behind the counter placing out the fresh dango.

" _Ohayo_ , Fuyuko."

" _Ohayo,_ Takita-san," Hoshiko said with a smile as she stripped her coat off her back and hung it up on the rack and fetched her apron from the back room. She returned to Takita as he handed her daily skewer of dango.

"Did you sleep alright last night? It was probably the coldest night of the season," Takita asked her as he walked over to the window and flipped over the sign.

Hoshiko chewed on the sweet, "I was ok, the cold doesn't bother me as much anymore."

Takita smiled at her pleasantly as they both fell into silence and began making pots of teas and wiping down the tables.

"See you tomorrow, Takita-san," Hoshiko waved to the older man as she pulled on her winter cloak. Takita paused from wiping down the counter and gave her a wave and a smile. Hoshiko grinned to herself as she left the teashop. She was so lucky to have found so many nice people to take her in, she would never forget them.

The snow wasn't falling anymore, but it was still hard work to walk through the layer of snow. It was almost sunset, and the air was becoming chillier by the second. Hoshiko felt a shiver run down her spine as she pulled her coat around her body more tightly. She smiled and greeted people as she passed them in the village. None of them remembered her from her time here on her ANBU mission, thankfully. They all knew her as Fuyuko, cousin of Aishi. Aishi was well loved in the village, everyone knew her because of her popular fortune telling business. In return the villagers liked Hoshiko too.

 **X**

Hoshiko trudged into the clearing deep in the woods outside Hanabira. A figure sat atop a boulder lazing about, creating snowballs in his hand and then pelting them at the close tree trunks. When the boy heard Hoshiko approaching he sat up and pointed his finger at her, "You're late!"

A smirk appeared on Hoshiko's face, " _Gomen_. The shop was busy this afternoon."

Ren slid off the boulder lightly, "You're lying. You never do any work there."

"Shut up, brat. You want to train or not?" Hoshiko barked back at him. Her silver eyes narrowed but a playful expression on her face.

There was one thing that Hoshiko couldn't give up, and that was training. It was the only thing she allowed from her old life. She hated speaking about Konoha or anything to do with being a Shinobi, but she could never give up training. If on the off chance that the village was ever attacked or raided, Hoshiko would be there to put a stop to it. Training had also been drilled into her from her academy days. She had almost ten years of experience, she couldn't waste it. She couldn't let herself become lazy and weak, it was her one rule to live by.

Ren rolled his eyes at her question, "Of course I want to train. Why do you think I've been freezing my ass off in the snow for a goddam hour?"

Hoshiko gave him a dry look, "I don't like this attitude you've got. Where the hell have you been picking it up from?"

"You. Idiot…" Ren muttered.

"Right," Hoshiko drawled awkwardly. "Anyway, let's get started then. My bones are beginning to ache from this cold."

"You're fifteen, you aren't that old."

"Shut up, brat." Hoshiko snapped with a sneer.

Ren chuckled at her reaction as he began to stretch with her, "So what are you teaching me today?"

Hoshiko grinned devilishly, "Tree climbing."

"Eh!?"

* * *

Weeks passed for Hoshiko, and slowly the climate began to change. It hardly ever snowed, and when it did it didn't stick around for very long. Soon the snow had cleared and Hanabira was settling into a warm spring.

Hoshiko was wiping down a table as she said goodbye to a few customers in the shop. Takita called her over to deliver a pot of tea to a customer. "The man in the corner. Must be passing through the village, don't recognize him." Takita said as Hoshiko grabbed and balanced the tray in her hand as she headed over to the far corner of the shop.

"Here you are," Hoshiko said with a smile as she placed the pot of tea and cup on the table for him.

"Thank you," the man said. He glanced up, meeting her gaze.

Hoshiko studied him quickly. His eyes were dark, and two red lines ran down from them to the bottom of his cheeks. His hair was long and stark white. His body looked to be full of muscle, but that could have been from his thick travelling clothes. As Hoshiko stared at him, she couldn't help but have a familiarity with the man. Her eyes drifted to a small book on the table next to his hand. It was green. Hoshiko recognized it instantly.

"Wait, I know you." Hoshiko said suddenly.

The white haired man glanced up at her again, his eyebrows raised, "Hm?"

Hoshiko pointed to the book, "I've seen you in the back of Kak—in these books."

His expression changed suddenly, "Ah, so you're an avid reader of my works. Bit young I might add to be reading such things, but I do remember what I was like at that age." He tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully.

"I never read them!" Hoshiko exclaimed in disgust. Hoshiko looked back at Takita who was staring at her worriedly from her outburst. "I-I mean, I knew someone who read them a lot. I used to pinch them from him all the time and I would see your picture in it."

He chuckled. His dark eyes studied her for a second and Hoshiko thought for a split second that he would suddenly blurt out that he knew exactly who she was. But that was insane.

"Enjoy your tea." Hoshiko said with a polite nod and smile as she hurried off to her duties. The mans eyes followed her closely.

 **X**

Hoshiko returned to work the next day, and was surprised to find the same man from yesterday already in the shop drinking tea and having breakfast. Takita waved her over with a smile. Hoshiko tied on her apron and served a few customers. She was walking by the white haired mans table when he glanced up at her as she walked passed.

"Good morning," he said with a smile to her.

Hoshiko bowed her head respectfully to him. "Good morning. Are you staying in Hanabira for a while then?"

He sipped his tea, "Just a week at most. I'm researching new content for my next book." He gave her a sly grin. Hoshiko tried to smile but it mostly came out in a grimace. After a few more minutes of light conversation Hoshiko decided to return to work as she said goodbye to the man and finished her day at work.

* * *

As Hoshiko was walking home later that day she passed by the only bookshop in the village. Hoshiko found it annoying how she couldn't remember the mans name from Kakashi's books, and she was too shy to ask him outright for his name. So she decided to investigate for herself.

Hoshiko backed up to the bookshop and entered the shop, hitting away the curtain as she greeted the elderly woman at the back with a wave. She started browsing the isles, looking for the certain section without arousing suspicion from the old lady. Hoshiko finally came to the isle that she needed as her eyes searched the shelves for a small green book.

Hoshiko grinned when she spotted the Icha Icha book. She reached up and slid it out from its place, averting her eyes from the other books, which had some very graphic front covers. Hoshiko glanced around; making sure that no one saw her opening up such a vulgar book as she flicked to the bio page. Sure enough, there was a picture of the white haired man. He looked a lot younger in his picture but it was definitely him. Hoshiko's eyes skimmed the page until she settled on his name.

' _Jiraiya of the Hidden Leaf.'_

Hoshiko's stomach dropped. She couldn't believe it. _Has he come for me?_ Hoshiko thought in a panic as she slammed the book shut and shoved it back onto the shelf. She tore out of the bookshop, leaving the elderly woman in a state of shock. Hoshiko streaked down the road, weaving through the people and glancing over her shoulder, making sure that she wasn't being followed by Jiraiya. For the first time in months, Hoshiko completely masked her chakra. She wasn't taking any chances. She sprinted into the forest, heading for her secluded area where she would train with Ren. She needed to think.

Hoshiko panted as she sat with her legs tucked up to her chin and her back to the large boulder. She brushed back her loose hair and wiped her forehead from the sweat that had built up.

She couldn't believe it. Jiraiya. The legendary Sannin was in Hanabira. He said he was researching for a new book? Was that a lie? A cover story? What was he really here for?

Hoshiko tilted her head back until it touched the boulder; she shut her eyes and tried to control her breathing. As she sat there she began to recall something from a while back. Something about Jiraiya…

* * *

 _The Sandaime rose from his chair, he turned his back on the two young ANBU as his old and weary gaze settled over Konoha. "Orochimaru's hatred stems from being passed over as Hokage after me. He loathes Konoha and the Fire Country; him continuing his experiments is an attack not only on this country but on me as well. His arrogance is also another reason; he believes that he would get away with it and explains why he took the children from the Fire Country and not anywhere else."_

" _We should send a team to stop him," Hoshiko offered. "Two of his men could still be alive, we can find him and put a stop to this, he's an enemy of Konoha."_

" _By this time Orochimaru would've covered his tracks," The Sandaime told her, turning around to face the young girl. "There is no need to send a team, I will send this information to Jiraiya, he's been trying to find evidence of Orochimaru for years now."_

Yes. She remembered that. It was after her and Itachi had returned from Hanabira from their mission. Hoshiko's eyes opened in realization. That must be it. Jiraiya was following up on the Sandaime's information. He was always travelling so it must have taken some time to reach him, and then he had to get to Hanabira. She felt a weight lift off her chest at this. It was ok. She was safe. Hoshiko relaxed against the boulder…and then she began to laugh.

* * *

Four days later, Hoshiko got to work and found that the table that Jiraiya had been occupying for the last week was empty. Her heart sunk. After realizing that Jiraiya was in Hanabira for his own business and not to track her down, she had talked to him everyday. Some days he would even split his dango with her. They would sit for a few hours and talk about anything, mainly his books. Hoshiko didn't want anything to do with the smutty part, but she was trying to help him come up with a plot for his story. It failed multiple times.

"He left early this morning," Takita muttered to her from behind the counter. Hoshiko looked over at him and then back to the empty table. "He wanted to stay and say goodbye but he had to go urgently. He did say he might be back in a month or two…keep your chin up kid." Takita said. Hoshiko sighed and got to work.

* * *

A month and a half passed for Hoshiko. She stuck to the same routine. Go to work, and then after work she would train Ren in simple Shinobi techniques for an hour or two. They would then go home, have dinner and go to bed.

One day after Hoshiko had finished work for the day, she was walking down the street when something caught her eye. A flash of long white hair and bright red robes. She grinned and started running towards him, as she got closer she could definitely make out that it was him. "Jiraiya-san!"

Jiraiya paused mid step and turned, he spotted Hoshiko running up to him as a smile came over his face, "Good to see you, Fuyuko." Jiraiya placed his hand on her head with force as he ruffled up her hair.

Hoshiko giggled and ducked out of his reach, "You're back! How long are you staying for?" She asked excitedly. Hoshiko didn't know where the excitement came from. She had only spent a week beforehand with the man. Maybe it was because he too was from Konoha, and although Hoshiko never wanted to return there, Jiraiya connected her to her home. They were both sort of similar too, both were far from home and probably would never return unless they needed to.

"Just a few days," Jiraiya answered her question.

And so a few days flew by for the both of them. Hoshiko asked Jiraiya about where he had gone. He had told her that he had to go a bit further north, almost into rice country. Hoshiko's alarm bells went off as she recalled that was where Orochimaru had set up his new base. Which all but confirmed for her that Jiraiya was indeed searching for the other Sannin.

On the third day Jiraiya bid Hoshiko goodbye once more, but promised her that he would return soon.

* * *

And so it continued like this for seven whole months. Jiraiya would return every couple of weeks; sometimes a month would go by before he would return. He would meet up with Hoshiko at the teashop and they would talk about his books and his travels. Hoshiko found herself excited at the prospect of talking to the Sannin, it would be the best part of her day at times. When he had to say goodbye though, it was always tough for her. Hoshiko had a lot of people that had left her in her short life, but she knew that Jiraiya would always return, he had told her so. She knew it was also idiotic to become so attached to someone from Konoha. It was risky, but Jiraiya was so likeable and funny and he did remind her of home at times. She was willing to take the risk.

On the eve of Jiraiya's departure once more, the two sat on a bench overlooking the small village at sunset. The hill wasn't very large, and the village wasn't as grand to look over as Konoha. But it gave Hoshiko the same feeling that she did when she would sit atop the great stone faces.

"Say, Fuyuko…" Jiraiya muttered after drinking his tea. Hoshiko glanced over at the Sage; she noticed his brow was furrowed. He was thinking about something deeply. "How long have you been living here?"

"A few years," Hoshiko lied effortlessly.

Jiraiya nodded slowly, he sighed and leaned back against the bench. "So that means you were around for the kidnapping of those children, ne?"

She didn't let her surprise show on her face, instead her heart skipped a beat but she remained calm. "Yes, I remember. The boy I live with, Ren, he was taken. Konoha Shinobi brought him and the other children back safely."

"They ever tell you who was behind it?" Jiraiya inquired.

 _Orochimaru…_ Hoshiko thought bitterly. Thinking back to the mission, Hoshiko remembered it well. It was the first time she had fully lost control of her Mizukiri. She had slaughtered Orochimaru's subordinates, tore them limb from limb. Itachi had been the one to stop her; he was the only one that could. Hoshiko had to stop herself from thinking about him. Even now, almost eleven months later and the emotions that she felt _that_ night still haunted her. _Itachi_ haunted her still.

"No," Hoshiko replied to his question. "No I never found out. I'm just thankful the children were all found safely."

"Yes of course," Jiraiya agreed.

There was silence between them for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts. Hoshiko glanced over at him again and spoke, "Did you know them, Jiraiya-san?"

"Who?"

"The Shinobi who saved the children? I never met them but Ren told me about them." Hoshiko wanted to smack herself for being so childish. She was stepping on very thin ice, asking questions about herself and Itachi. She was waiting for Jiraiya to suddenly piece together everything and figure it all out, but the revelation never came.

"I never met them no, but I heard about them. One was Uchiha Itachi. He was a prodigy."

 _He used the word 'was',_ Hoshiko thought to herself.

"I saw him once or twice when he was a young boy. I knew he could one day do great things…that was until he turned his back on Konoha. You should know, Fuyuko…that Uchiha kid did something terrible recently." Jiraiya paused. "He slaughtered his clan, no one knows why…some say he did it for power, others for revenge. He killed his mother and father, his aunts and uncles. His cousins…everyone."

 _Except Sasuke…_

It had been so long since conversation about the massacre had been brought up, Hoshiko was surprised to feel the sting in her eyes and the lump in her throat. She played it off as being affected by learning about the events now. She rubbed at her eyes.

"A tragedy…so much wasted life…" Jiraiya muttered.

"The other one…Ren mentioned a girl," Hoshiko stated. Jiraiya met her stare. Hoshiko suddenly felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"Ginyoru Hoshiko. Never met her, but she was a great Shinobi. She was talented for her age. I am sorry to tell you this but during the night of Uchiha Itachi's defection she was a casualty. He murdered her too along with his family…no one quite knows why. Speculation went around the village of course, but I guess the only person who knows is lost forever. A shame it was, to loose someone like her."

Hoshiko gazed across the village, suddenly wishing she was home. Another tear slipped down her cheek as she rubbed at it. She had the sudden urge to scream out her true name. She had been using the identity of Fuyuko for so long now that to her it was like Ginyoru Hoshiko really was gone. A part of her wanted to go home, to let everyone know that yes she was alive and no Itachi hadn't killed her. But if she did that, Danzo would surely come after her again. And this time he would make sure that he finished the job.

She also had to consider the safety of her mother. Aishi had recently gone to Konoha to visit a friend and Hoshiko had begged her to check on her mother. According to Aishi, Hiroka was fine. She was healthy and it looked like Danzo had left her alone. If Hoshiko returned, she was positive that her mother would be a target. It wasn't the first time Danzo had threatened her mother.

"I haven't been truthful with you, Fuyuko." Jiraiya suddenly said. It sent alarm bells ringing in Hoshiko's ears, as her whole body tensed up in anticipation of what Jiraiya was about to say next.

"The reason I am here, it wasn't just for content for my book. I've been trying to find someone."

Hoshiko's heartbeat sped up again. Her muscles tensed, ready to sprint away once Jiraiya came clean. She was waiting on baited breath as Jiraiya tried to figure out what to say. She knew that this was it. Jiraiya had known all along who she was…

"The man behind the kidnappings…his name is Orochimaru…and he is my friend."

Hoshiko's body relaxed slightly, she released her breath slowly as to not arouse suspicion with the Sannin. "I've been searching for him ever since he left Konoha. We were on the same Genin team together. We saved each other's lives too many times to count, and now he crossed into a path that I could not follow. But I am determined to bring him back."

"Why?" Hoshiko asked so suddenly. She was confused with Jiraiya. Orochimaru was a bad person. He had killed so many people, had deserted his village. Why was Jiraiya trying so hard to find him?

Jiraiya grinned down at her, "Cause what kind of friend would I be if I can't save him?"

Hoshiko angled her face away. She didn't want Jiraiya to see the pain on her face from his statement. She grimaced…why was she thinking about Itachi right now? She couldn't stop it. It was like Jiraiya and Orochimaru were her and Itachi, two friends on different paths. Her fists clenched in anger. What if it was true, and she should be trying to find Itachi and bring him back to the light? Instead she had been wallowing in self-pity for almost a year.

"How can you do that?" Hoshiko asked him, her teeth gritted. "He's done so many bad things. What makes him redeemable?"

Jiraiya smiled down at her. She was stunned by how sincere he looked, "Because I knew Orochimaru before he turned his back." Jiraiya gazed over the village. "And I have the guts to never give up. He can run for as long as he wants, but I'll always be there."

Hoshiko stared at him in awe. Her eyes turned glassy from unshed tears as she sniffed loudly. Jiraiya faced her and chuckled at her reaction. "Oi oi, you can't start crying now, kid! What about when I leave in the morning? You going to cry then too?"

"Of course!" Hoshiko exclaimed. "I just…" She paused, unsure about how to go about it. "Thank you, Jiraiya-san."

"What for?" Jiraiya asked dumbly.

Hoshiko chuckled and wiped her eyes, "It doesn't matter."

* * *

Kakashi closed his book softly, dropping his arm down to his side as he gazed down at the headstone. His one uncovered eye quickly darted up to see the setting sun and then back down to the stone. Ten months he had been staring at the name written there, but it still wasn't easy coming here.

 _Ginyoru Hoshiko_.

She was another fallen comrade, another friend that he had lost too early. His father. Obito and Rin. Minato and Kushina. Hoshiko. She was added to the list. How many more would be added to his list during his lifetime?

Footsteps caught his attention as Kakashi glanced over to his left. He wasn't surprised to see Hiroka approaching the grave, flowers in hand. The mother looked like she had aged ten years in the last couple of months. Her hair was messy and limp, her cheeks hollow and her eyes were always glassy and red.

"Kakashi-san." Hiroka greeted pleasantly. Kakashi nodded back in greeting and stepped out of the way for her. Hiroka knelt down and placed the flowers across the ground and lit the incense. "It's a beautiful night tonight. Hoshiko would have loved the sunset."

"Aa."

"It will almost be a year soon. It seems to have gone so quickly, loosing her."

Kakashi remained silent at that.

"I miss her."

"I do too," Kakashi replied softly. Kakashi suddenly remembered the night of the massacre. Word had just reached him from the higher ups and he had been gearing up to go to the scene when someone knocked on his door. Perplexed, he opened his front door, astonished to see a frantic and crying Hiroka at his door with a piece of paper in her hand. Kakashi couldn't get a word in before the woman was crying to him; recounting the letter Hoshiko had left her mother. Hiroka begged Kakashi to find her, to bring her home. Kakashi had promised as he left the mother on his doorstep and rushed to the scene.

Once Kakashi arrived to the Uchiha compound he had been informed of the witnessing of Itachi and Hoshiko and that the former had killed her. Kakashi then had the horrible job of returning to his home, finding Hiroka passed out on the floor of his living room, waking her up and telling her the news that her only child was dead. Killed by her best friend. He would never forget the sound of Hiroka's wails that night as she clung to him.

"I wish I had never sent her to that academy," Hiroka stated. Bringing Kakashi out of his memory. "If she had never gone. She would never have met Itachi; she would never have put herself at risk. She would still be here."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, before he sighed, "Aa."

* * *

Hoshiko lay asleep in her bed. Three months had passed since Jiraiya's departure from Hanabira for the final time. He had told her that his searching for Orochimaru had come to a dead end in the Fire country and now he was moving on, to Stone Country. Jiraiya didn't promise that he would return, only that if he was ever back around he would try and visit her again. Hoshiko had cried at him leaving again. Jiraiya had then made a stupid joke about how the next time he saw her; she might be old enough for him to study her for one of his books.

Hoshiko had punched him square in the nose for that remark.

She had waved him goodbye, watching as he walked out of the village. She waited until she couldn't see him on the path anymore before she had turned and returned to her routine.

Over a year had passed since her 'death'. Since Shisui had died. Since Itachi had murdered his family. She had mourned on the anniversaries. She had cried once again. She had gone out to the forest and screamed until her throat was raw. And then she stopped. Her mourning period was over and life moved on. Before she knew it three months had come and gone.

Her hair was longer once more. She hadn't cut it since that day eleven months ago. It splayed out on the pillow around her as she slept peacefully. For the first time in a long time, she wasn't having a nightmare. She was truly settling into peace in Hanabira.

That was until she was awoken by loud banging at the front door. She gasped as she shot up in her bed, her breathing erratic as she could hear incoherent yelling from the front of the house.

"Aishi? What's going on?" She heard Ren yell from down the hall.

"Where is Hoshiko?" Aishi yelled back.

Hoshiko was out of her bed in a second and running to her door. Now that she was awake Hoshiko could faintly hear the sounds of screams and explosions in the distance. She didn't have time to think on it as her bedroom door was ripped open and Aishi stood before her. Hoshiko gasped. The woman's face was smeared in blood, a gash running down her cheek. Her clothes were soaked in blood, a wound on her stomach.

"Hoshiko!" Aishi panted. "Please you…have to help!"

"What is it?" Hoshiko demanded, catching Aishi as she collapsed to the floor.

"The village—is under attack!"

* * *

 **Hi everyone! *waves from under a rock***

 **I know it's been a while and I'm so so so sorry. I took a break from writing for a little while to try and get my head on straight as a few things happened in my personal life recently. I know it's been a while and this isn't exactly the longest or exciting chapter, the good one is the next one! I don't know how people are going to feel about me adding in Jiraiya but I felt like he was a good fit for the story here and obviously he has made Hoshiko think about a few things in her life. Anyway, who do you think is attacking the village? And why? Dun dun duuuuuuun**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed for last chapter and during my long ass absence, I very much appreciate it!**

 **REPLIES**

blueerimartian - Hi ahhhh that's so sweet of you! I love Aishi and Ren so much hahah especially Ren picking up Hoshiko's bad attitude, just like someone else we know! I'm afraid we won't see Itachi anymore for a while but I had to add that little scene in for you guys! SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER!

AnimeMango - Wow well done for reading so much at work! (should i really be condoning that? ah well) I know I'm so sorry for killing Shisui but I do have a surprise later on in the story for all my Shisui lovers out there! Thank you, I'm hoping that everyone will love what i have planned!

Guest - IM sorry this took forever but thank you for reading!

MeandNotYou1001 - I'm sorry for it being so angsty! I'm not sure if this one is any better until the end a bit more but whoops, we'll get out of it soon, promise! I swear Itachi will have a happy ending in this story! As for Hoshiko not going back for Sasuke, that will be explained later on in the story. It was intentional just incase people thought maybe i had forgotten him xD as if i could forget cute little sasuke!

dear-darling-x-x - SORRY FOR MAKING YOU CRY (im not really mwahaha)

Dark Rose Charm - Im sure in Itachi's own weird way he will be feeling a smidgen of guilt over what has happened. that is...until he finds out that she's alive. or IF he finds out she's alive...mwahah im kidding he will one day! that reunion is gonna be sooooo good!

Davina - SORRY FOR MAKING YOU CRY. Ive written that out a lot lel. Hope i'm not disappointing and sorry it took me so bloody long to come out with this!

PrismRootStarlight - Thank you! Hope you enjoyed!

\- Goddamn that fate! Hoshiko hasn't forgotten about Sasuke. there is a reason why she didn't go back for him which will come up later in the story! And yeah I sometimes forget that at the start of the main part they were only 14 years old. Now they're 15(ish) and literally have spent their whole life training to be ninja tools. And plus, Hoshiko got a lot of trauma to sort out still from everything. I made a promise to myself that when i started this story i would be totally making sure that Itachi has a happy ending. a proper one like you said. there will be none of this bittersweet shit. no matter how much i love and hate that i really want Itachi to have that happiness with someone as he totally deserves it! Thank you and see you soon!


	23. Those who Endure

_Those who endure._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

" _The village—is under attack!"_

For a moment, all Hoshiko could do was stare. For a moment, her eyes were fixated on the bloody face of Aishi, her body collapsed in her arms. For a moment, she thought that Aishi _had_ to have been lying to her. That was until she heard an explosion off in the distance, from the direction of the village. Aishi's eyes were shut now; Hoshiko guessed that she had passed out from her wound on her stomach. The next second Ren came bounding into her room.

"Hoshiko! Sadao was still in the village!" He cried out desperately. Ren's dark eyes shifted to the unconscious body of Aishi as he collapsed next to her. Hoshiko lay Aishi down on the floor gently as she got to her feet. Ren stared up at her. "What are you going to do?"

Hoshiko turned to her pile of clothes folded on her dresser. She could spot the old and worn armor from her spot as she picked up the black ensemble. Her gaze went to the newly sewn up hole in the shirt and armor.

"I'm going to protect my home." She said with determination.

 **X**

She added on the last piece, her weapons pouch. Her old ANBU armor still fit her, yet it felt heavy on her. Hoshiko reached for her Wakizashi lying on the dresser as she held it in her hand firmly. She turned to Ren, who was still sitting by Aishi on the floor. "Don't worry. I'll do what I can." She told him with a firm nod. Ren, stunned into silence couldn't say anything as Hoshiko walked passed him.

She ignored the gleam of her Hitai-ate; she was not doing this as a Konoha Shinobi. She was doing this as a villager of Hanabira.

She left the farmhouse, and from where she stood she could see the glow of fire from the village. The faint echo of screams could be heard as Hoshiko quickly made hand signs for her summoning.

" _Kuchiyose no jutsu!_ "

With a bleeding thumb she slammed her hand down onto the ground and in a large puff off smoke dozens and dozens of crows sprouted from her summon and flew into the air. Their intentions were already known; they were scout the village and relay back to her how many hostiles were in the village and what she should be expecting.

With her crows leading the way Hoshiko sprinted towards the village. Her mind was suddenly switching into her battle mode, she was remembering all of her training, all her lessons that she had as a child, as a teenager. Everything she had learnt with Itachi and Danzo, it all came back to her.

* * *

Takita had never known _true_ fear. That was until the night his village came under attack. The first explosions had gone off late in the night, and then he began to hear the screams. He could hear the people he had seen his whole life be slaughtered in the streets. He had made the foolish decision to leave his teahouse. He had wanted to know who were the monsters behind the attack. Instead he had been greeted with three men in front of his store.

The gasp had been ripped from his throat as his eyes widened in fear. The three men were unfamiliar to him; all wore purple and grey attire. He saw their headband gleaming in the fire embers and the moonlight.

A music note.

Takita had tried to turn and run back into his shop, but he was stopped and thrown to the ground by the man in the middle of the trio. "Where is he?" the man barked angrily.

Takita backed up on his elbows, "What are you talking about?" he asked. The three men gave each other bored looks as the one on the left stepped forward and slammed down his foot onto Takita's throat. The old man spluttered and gasped for air, clawing at the shoe. He tried desperately to get his foot off him, but it was futile. The man was much stronger than he was.

"I'm going to ask one—more—time." At the last word, he pressed down harder with his foot. "Where is Jiraiya? The old man? He was seen frequenting your…establishment."

Takita could barely shake his head at the question. It was getting harder for him to breathe. He could feel his life slowly slipping away from him. Even through this, if these men wanted to know where the man called Jiraiya was…they would never hear it from him. As he felt the last bit of oxygen leave him, Takita's last thought was that if they were searching for Jiraiya and they knew that he always visited his teashop…then they would know about Fuyuko—they would be going after her next.

There was a cry of pain, and then suddenly the weight on his throat was gone.

Takita barely managed to lift his head to watch the scene unfurl. The man, the one who had his shoe pressed against his throat, was now impaled against the opposite shop, the sword pinning him to the wall. He was dead. His two companions turned and stared at the scene, not knowing what to do. Before they could comprehend on what had just happened, Takita flinched in fear when a figure suddenly appeared between the two men. Panic shot through him, fearing that it was another friend of theirs. That all changed when he saw a pair of familiar eyes. She glanced at him for a split second, before the two men noticed her there.

In a flash she had gripped one ninja by the throat and pummeled him to the ground. The other turned, suddenly realizing that she was an enemy. He didn't have any time to brandish a weapon or use a jutsu. He was kicked in the chin as he went soaring up into the air. She appeared in front of him, her fist launched into his face as he hit the ground. His neck at an odd angle.

Hoshiko dropped to the ground; she made sure that all three were dead before approaching Takita.

"Fuyuko!" Takita exclaimed. He winced in pain at the action, his throat damaged. Hoshiko helped him up. "What are you doing? How did you do that?" Even through the pain he managed to speak.

Hoshiko silenced him with a shake of her head, "There's no time to explain. Get inside and barricade yourself in there. Do not come out again, for anything." Hoshiko warned him. Takita nodded and hobbled to the door of his teashop. As he opened the door he glanced over his shoulder at her. Hoshiko was fetching her Wakizashi from the first sound ninja. The body dropped to the floor as she wiped the blood off her sword.

"Who are you?" Takita asked her.

Hoshiko met his gaze, her brows furrowed, "I'm no one." Takita was still confused but could question her anymore as she suddenly leapt up onto the roofs and into the night.

* * *

It was mayhem. There must have been around fifty sound ninjas in the village. Hoshiko surveyed the village from her vantage point. Houses had been blown up, and bodies littered the streets. All for what?

A caw from above had Hoshiko gazing up to the sky. One of her crows was currently circling an area not too far from her; it was the signal that it had found another enemy. Hoshiko wasted no time in rushing over there. She leapt over the roofs and avoided the great balls of fire rising up from the homes. She spotted the sound ninja attacking a couple. This repulsed Hoshiko. How could they attack innocent civilians? They were all unarmed and had no way of protecting themselves.

The woman screamed as her partner was stabbed by the sound ninja. Hoshiko dove for him, her sword at the ready. The sound ninja sensed someone approaching as they turned just in time to block her attack. If he hadn't, his head would have been sliced clean off.

She didn't wait for him to attack her; instead she dropped to the ground and stabbed her sword into his foot. He screamed. As she wrenched it out she dodged an attack to her head. She spun around and buried her sword to the hilt into his back. The man gave out a gurgled cry of pain before slumping to the ground.

Hoshiko didn't wait to see the reactions of the people she had saved. Another crow was cawing off at the next street. She took off once more. As she neared them the crow cawed three times, telling her that three enemies were waiting for her.

Hoshiko brandished three kunai in her hand as she jumped off the roof. She spotted the three ninja's terrorizing a group of villagers. Hoshiko used her lightning affinity to electrify her kunai as she threw them for the trio. They didn't know what had hit them as the electrified kunai impaled them in the backs. They each screamed in pain before dropping to the floor. The villagers stared up in awe and some confusion as they watched the girl they knew as Fuyuko give them a tight nod as she bounded off.

 **X**

Hoshiko was heading to her next crow, which was until a person down on the ground caught her attention. Hoshiko stopped in her tracks suddenly. As she did this her foot got caught in a small hole on the roof she was currently standing on. The pressure made her foot sink into the roof and then her leg fell through. As the weight of her body hit the old tiles they gave way and she fell through the roof. Hoshiko landed on a table that broke from her fall. Wood splintered around her as the debris from the ceiling came down on her. Hoshiko shielded her face from the wood and tiles as she coughed out the dust that was swirling around her face.

Hoshiko groaned, feeling a pain in her side but ignoring it. She suddenly remembered why she had stopped. She jumped up, throwing the debris off her body as she headed to the front door. She wrenched the door open and fell out into the street.

"Sadao!" She screamed frantically.

She tripped and stumbled towards the man lying in the middle of the street, her foot injured from her fall. Hoshiko dropped to her knees by his head as her hands gripped the front of his shirt tightly.

"Sadao…" She examined his body. Blood pooled around his torso, obviously from an attack by the sound ninja. His eyes were shut and his long grey hair was sticky and matted from blood and dirt. Hoshiko placed her head against his chest, trying desperately to hear a heartbeat. Her own heart gave a painful lurch when she didn't hear a thing.

Hoshiko sat upright, she forced her tears away. Now was not the time to mourn for Sadao—she had to protect—

Her train of thought suddenly changed. Hoshiko glanced down at Sadao with wide eyes. The sound ninja had interrogated Takita on the whereabouts of a man, from what Hoshiko had gathered from them she had assumed they were after Jiraiya. It made sense. The sound ninja were from a country run by Orochimaru. Jiraiya was searching for him. If the ninja knew that Jiraiya was always at the teashop from seeing him there, then they would've known that she always met him.

Then that meant they knew where she lived…

Hoshiko jumped up and started running as fast as she could in the direction of home. _I never should have left them!_ Hoshiko thought desperately to herself. She ignored the blaring pain in her ankle. It was probably broken but she didn't care, she had to get home, she had to protect Ren and Aishi.

She ran, ignoring the screams. None of them mattered anymore; she only cared about Ren and Aishi. Hoshiko had to push the horrible thoughts out of her head about them. What if she was too late? What if they had already gotten to them?

* * *

The farmhouse came into view, and thankfully it looked untouched. All the lights were off just how she had left it and the front door seemed to be closed. " _REN!_ " Hoshiko screamed as loud as she possibly could. She was meters away from the house now.

Her heart soared when the front door opened…and Ren ran out. He looked tired and scared but he was alive and running towards her. "Hoshiko!" he cried happily, a smile on his young face-

-the sound of a sword piercing flesh echoed in the night. The smile dropped from Ren's face. Hoshiko stumbled to a stop, her jaw dropped as she watched a sound ninja appear from behind Ren and yank the sword out of his small body.

"No!" Hoshiko cried in anguish. She had been meters from him! Why couldn't she have stopped him? Hoshiko had a _Raikiri_ made in her hand in a second as she charged for the sound ninja. Her fist was through the ninja's chest before he could react. She turned and caught Ren before he hit the ground and fell to the ground with his body.

"Ren…no! Please, no no no." His eyes blinked up at her slowly. Blood dipped from his torso and mouth. "You're going to be ok," Hoshiko whispered to him. Tears dripped onto his stained shirt as she quickly looked back at the sound ninja just to make sure he was dead. When she looked back Ren was staring up at her.

"Hosh…ko…"

Tear pooled in his dark eyes.

"I don't…want to die…"

Hoshiko felt her heart split once more, she cradled Ren to her chest and wept with him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you…"

"Aishi…she…dead…"

Another stab to the heart for her. Everyone she cared about was dead or dying. Hoshiko wept loudly as she continued to hold Ren close to her. She suddenly felt his body go limp as she glanced down. His amber eyes were half open, the light gone from them. His chest remained flat.

"Ren?" Hoshiko whispered his name. She lay her hand against his cheek, bowed her head until her forehead touched his. "I'm sorry." She said once more.

 **X**

She sensed them before she heard them. Seven of them. All bearing down on her location. Hoshiko glanced up through her wet lashes and saw the seven sound ninja's approaching her. She carefully laid Ren down on the ground as she stood up straight and faced them. Her body ached but she ignored it.

"Is that her?" One of them said.

"Yeah. Orochimaru-sama said that he recognized her."

"He want's her alive, doesn't he?" The first one questioned.

Hoshiko narrowed her eyes at the group. She knew that she was in no state to fight them, but the fact that Orochimaru was once again behind an attack on this poor village made her want to kill every last one of them. She glanced behind her. She saw Ren's still body on the floor. She couldn't fight the ninja's here, there was a chance that something could happen to his body.

Hoshiko stared down the seven ninja's. It looked like they were waiting for her to make the first move. She didn't second-guess herself as she sped off to the right and into the dense forest.

She jumped through the trees as quickly as she could. She could hear the sound ninja behind her, closing in. They were laughing and taunting her as they chased after her. Hoshiko swiftly brought out some explosion tags that she had in her weapons pouch as she discreetly placed them on some of the trees she jumped on.

She smiled slightly when she heard the satisfying sound of the explosions going off and a few surprised screams. Her happiness didn't last long as she glanced over her shoulder and saw that her tags had only managed to eliminate one of the ninja's. It was still better than nothing.

She landed on a thick branch, and a sharp pain shot up her leg because of her injured ankle. Her whole leg buckled and the inertia of her movement threw her forwards. She gasped and headed face first towards the next tree branch. She dug into her pouch and pulled out a kunai that had a wire attached to the end. Hoshiko threw the wire into the tree and swung herself up and back on track. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she took a glance over her shoulder. The sound ninja's had closed in a few more paces to her, but it wouldn't be long before they fully caught up to her. Her ankle was slowing her down.

"Give up already!" One called from behind. "You'll never get away from us! If you surrender now, we won't take you back to the village and make you watch as we kill every last one of them. Keep going and we'll make it as painful as possible!"

Hoshiko visibly winced. She swallowed the large lump in her throat as she turned her head, "You've already killed the people I cared about! What's the point now anyway?" As she said that it became clear for her. What was she running for? Sadao…Aishi…Ren…they were all dead. Even if she did manage to get away from Orochimaru—what then? Where would she go? She couldn't go home, to Konoha. Everyone she cared about was dying around her, she wasn't safe anymore. It seemed like Orochimaru wanted her for something, would that something make him hunt her forever? Would anywhere ever be safe for her again?

She was sick of running. She was tired of looking over her shoulder. She had been doing that ever since she was a child. She didn't want to anymore, she couldn't.

She stopped running. She landed on the branch; she knew she only had a few seconds to do what she needed to. She reached into her pouch once more and drew out three explosive tags. She heard the surprised shouts of the ninja behind her, wondering why she had stopped. Some thought that she had given up.

Well she had…in a way.

She fed a small amount of chakra into the tags, and then she let them go just as she sensed the sound ninja's practically on top of her.

She had made her decision. She wasn't going to run anymore. It was better for everyone if she disappeared. There would be no threat to her home and mother now if she was gone. She wouldn't have to deal with the guilt of not being able to stop Itachi, of knowing that Shisui was gone…that she had left Sasuke behind to fend for himself. If she died, her Mizukiri died with her. The last of the Ginyoru clan would be gone. They were a scourge on this world up until the day they were slaughtered. Hoshiko would finally be able to join her father. She'd see everyone again. Shisui…he'd be waiting for her, she was sure of it.

The tags began to hiss at her feet. The paper lit up. Hoshiko shut her eyes and waited.

"What the hell is that?"

She heard something that sounded distinctly like a…frog? Suddenly she felt her body become incased in something warm and slimy. She opened her eyes but was met with only darkness, and then the strong feeling of needing to sleep overcame her. Her body became heavy and she felt cold embrace of unconsciousness take her under.

* * *

When she came to, she was in an unfamiliar building. Her sleepy eyes scanned the room she was in. It looked like a single roomed cabin. She was lying on a single bed, in the opposite corner was a small kitchen and a table and two chairs. One window was by the only door and to her it seemed like it was almost sunset or sunrise, she couldn't really tell right now. Hoshiko frowned, what the hell had happened? She was sure that she had…she had used her explosive tags. And yet she was still alive.

She pushed herself up, and then winced when she felt a pain in her side. She glanced down, noticing that she was in her sleeveless black shirt that she normally wore under her long sleeved one. Wrapped around her torso were thick bandages. She recalled falling through the roof in Hanabira, she had landed on a table and must have broken a rib. Her ankle had also been wrapped, probably broken too.

But who had done it?

Considering she was currently alive and breathing she didn't think Orochimaru had gotten his hands on her. Her sudden train of thought had her thinking about the village—and the people she had lost. Once again Hoshiko was left alone.

A noise from outside had her head snapping over to the front door. She heard the crackling of a fire outside. Hoshiko stood up from the bed, flinching at the pain from her ribs and ankle. She tried not to put too much weight on her ankle as she hobbled to the door. She wanted to know who had saved her.

She opened the door slowly, and true enough it was sunset. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the fire pit a few feet away from the door. A figure sat next to it, four fish cooking on sticks near the flames. Their eyes met hers when they noticed that she was standing there.

"The fish is almost ready," he said.

Hoshiko was stunned, "Ji-Jiraiya-san?" The Sannin greeted her with a nod. He was perched on a rock, a large scroll by his side. His eyes settled on the now visible ANBU tattoo that decorated Hoshiko's upper shoulder.

"It seems I wasn't the only one keeping secrets," he said with a knowing look. Jiraiya reached for the now cooked fish and held it out to her. "Here, you must be hungry."

Hoshiko narrowed her gaze and marched-barely-over to him. She smacked the offered fish out of his grip so hard that the branch broke in half and the fish went flying. "How _dare_ you," she said darkly. Jiraiya wasn't fazed by her tone. In fact, he looked like he was expecting it. "How dare you sit there and act like nothing just happened! Hanabira was attacked because of you!" Hoshiko's chest was heaving. Her ribs were killing her but she was determined to ignore it. Jiraiya held her gaze. "They killed dozens of innocent people because they wanted _you_! And you're sitting here offering me fish as if nothing happened."

Jiraiya turned away from her; he picked up another fish and examined it. "It seemed that it wasn't just me they were looking for, hmm?"

"Don't try and pin this on me!" Hoshiko defended. "They only found me because you spent so much time in the village. Because you have some stupid mission to try and bring your old friend back! Isn't this enough proof for you that he doesn't _want_ your help? Who else needs to die for you?" Hoshiko paused to take a breath. She thought about what she was going to say next. Her throat started to close up.

"I lost the people that I cared about today. They took me in, healed me, fed me. They gave me everything, and I couldn't save them. Orochimaru…he did this to prove a point. He is willing to lay siege to a village because you spent time in it—and because I did too."

Jiraiya still hadn't looked back at her.

"Ren was only eleven. He was an eleven-year-old boy who was stabbed in the chest by them. He was so scared. He didn't deserve to die. None of them did. And you had no right to take my choice away from me."

Jiraiya finally met her gaze with confusion, "You would have truly wanted to end your life there?"

"Yes!" Hoshiko exclaimed angrily. "I was ready, I had decided my fate. You had no right to take that from me!"

Jiraiya finally stood up from the rock. His large frame towered over Hoshiko's small one. "There is always something to fight for. You can never give up."

"I have _nothing_ to fight for!" Hoshiko cried. "My name is Ginyoru Hoshiko." She saw Jiraiya's eyes widen. "I have lost everything I have ever cared about. My friends, my home, my family and my life. I cannot return home, and now I cannot stay anywhere because Orochimaru will hunt me down. That was my one chance at freedom, and you took it from me."

"That was not the way…"Jiraiya said softly.

Hoshiko shook her head in disbelief and wiped her eyes hastily from the tears that had started to build up. "You have no idea what it's been like. I'm done. I spent my whole life dedicated to being a Shinobi. To protecting the village and everyone in it, and what did I get in return? I was stabbed in the back and left for dead. My _friend_ , he turned his back on everyone who loved him. He _murdered_ his own kin. I can't return to the village for fear that my own mother will be killed. So, tell me, Jiraiya-san…who do I fight for now?"

Jiraiya waited for a moment. "Yourself." He saw her vulnerable expression and sighed deeply. "I've always said; being a Shinobi isn't just about being strong. It isn't about how powerful you become. It's about the strength you have on not giving up. You endure, no matter what gets thrown at you. All you need is the guts to never give up."

"You make it sound so easy," Hoshiko whimpered. She sunk to the ground. Her ankle was throbbing from being stood on for so long.

"I never said it was!" Jiraiya chuckled. "It's the hardest thing to do, never giving up. I believe you can do it though."

"How? Why do you believe in me?" Hoshiko asked sadly.

Jiraiya bent down and ruffled the top of her head, "Because you remind me—of me."

* * *

A few days passed. Once Hoshiko was strong enough to move around without pain in her ribs, her ankle was still a bother but she couldn't sit in that cabin for much longer, she made the trip back to Hanabira with a _Henge no jutsu_. She had arrived to see the remaining villagers picking up the pieces after the recent attack. Jiraiya had told her that once the Sound had found her at the farmhouse the others had gone back to Orochimaru. They had been under the impression that the seven who had pursued her would have succeeded in capturing her. Jiraiya had seen to that they were never able to return to their master.

She didn't bother to go and see Takita. He wouldn't recognize her and she wouldn't put him at risk again. She wouldn't be staying in Hanabira. She just had to check on a few things and grab some of her belongings from the farmhouse if they were still there.

She got to the farmhouse, and saw that Ren's body wasn't there. She had assumed that the villagers had come to collect the dead so that they could be buried. Hoshiko entered the house and went straight to her room. A large bloodstain was on the mats, from Aishi. Hoshiko felt the guilt well up in her chest. She shouldn't have left Aishi alone with Ren. She had seen her wound but didn't think it had been that bad. How wrong she had been.

Hoshiko side stepped around the blood on the floor, and went to her drawers. She collected a few items of clothing and more of her weapons stash. She didn't want to stay for long as she was worried that Orochimaru might send someone to stake out the house in case she did come back. As she was leaving her room something caught her eye. The metal glinted in the sunlight that was streaming in from the window as she walked over to her Hitai-ate that was still in the same place that she had left it in. The leaf symbol was staring at her. The symbol was a reminder of everything that she had lost since before leaving Konoha and after. But it was still a part of her. Even if she never returned, she knew that Konoha was her home.

With great reluctance, Hoshiko placed the headband in her pocket and left the house. She had what she needed and made her way back to the village. A mass graveyard had been built in the center of the village. Hoshiko made her way there and inquired about her fallen friends. A kind villager that she recognized pointed her in the right direction.

She found the graves easily enough, and a bittersweet feeling came over her when she saw that Sadao, Ren and Aishi had all been buried next to each other.

' _Gone but not forgotten'_ was written underneath their names. She felt the tears returning but she was gone before anyone saw them fall.

* * *

It was nighttime when Jiraiya returned from his scout. Hoshiko was waiting for him to return before she left. She had packed away in her bag her clothes, food and extra weapons. She had on her standard clothes, her ANBU armor was finally too worn to wear anymore so she was leaving it behind, and a long black cloak around her body. Her headband was sitting at the bottom of her bag. Her hair was tied up away from her face.

When Jiraiya saw her emerge from the cabin in her gear he had nodded in acknowledgement, "I thought you might…"

"There are some things I need to do. Things I need to sort out," Hoshiko told him sadly. She was referring to finding something to fight for, and to learn how to never give up.

Jiraiya grinned down at her, "Be safe, kid. And here…" Jiraiya handed her a little green book.

Hoshiko balked at the book, "I don't need that!" She exclaimed in disgust. Jiraiya started laughing loudly as Hoshiko shook her head at him.

"Well, what if you start to get lonely—"

"No! Stop, please!" Hoshiko cried, covering up her ears. Jiraiya continued to meet her gaze as he smirked. Hoshiko's mouth cracked into a smile of its own as she laughed softly.

"Thank you, Jiraiya. For everything, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you for the attack on the village."

"You're welcome…Hoshiko."

Hoshiko smiled up at him one last time before she turned on her heel and started walking off in the dark night. As she was leaving, she wondered if she would ever see Jiraiya again. She hoped so…

She was hoping for a lot of things.

* * *

 **Woohoo so I didn't take as long as last time! Anyway a lot happened in this chapter. I know many of you loved Aishi and Ren but...welp they're gone. When will our heroine ever have some happiness in her life? I was seriously so happy to see some familiar names pop up in my reviews, I'm glad I haven't lost you guys! I hope you enjoyed his story. After this chapter it's time for a time skippppp! Eeeeek finally! We'll finally get to see a more grown up Hoshiko and the reunion will be happening in maybe 3 or 4 chapters, depending on how much I write out the next arc.**

 **REPLIES**

blueerimartian - duuuuuuuuude at least it wasnt like 2 months this time! xD I'm so happy you liked it! Yeah and I remember you saying how you really like Aishi and Ren...whoops. I hope you weren't too attached to them lol I'm glad you enjoyed me adding Jiraiya into it. Hope you enjoyed!

guest - Aww i'm honored that my story was the first one you've ever reviewed! Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it and I'll see you soon!

TheQueen1615 - Hi! Thank you so much! Sorry for tugging on the heartstrings but I'm glad you're enjoying it!

GreyMoonHuntress - Thaaaanks! Ahh I'm happy that people were ok with Jiraiya! As of now though we won't be seeing him for a while. He made a nice cameo for two chapters but we have got to say Sayonara to our favourite prevy sage (rip) Oh yeah, i'm totally ready for this story. I can't wait for you guys to see how i have this all planned out. It's gonna be mindblowing, just saying xD


	24. When It Rains

_When It Rains._

 **Onyx and Ivory  
**

* * *

 _Fuyuko (I'm using this name just incase these letters ever get intercepted, not that they would seeing as they're being carried by the Great Toads of Mount Myōboku.),_

 _How's it going, kid? It's been like what—a year or something since I last saw you? You must be sixteen, or seventeen now? Hope your journey is going well. I've been working on my new book still and I may or may not have used your appearance and such for the main character._

 _Jiraiya_

 _(Super Pervert)_

* * *

 _Jiraiya,_

 _First off: how the hell did your toads find me? And tell them I sure as hell don't appreciate them sitting on my face and trying to suffocate me while I'm asleep!_

 _Yeah, just turned seventeen. I can't believe how many years have flown by. Anyway, I'm currently in Cloud Country, and no I'm not telling you why._

 _And if I haven't already told you, you're disgusting. You're going to hell for basing a character off an underage girl._

 _Fuyuko_

 _(The girl who will more then likely murder you if you publish anything about me)_

* * *

 _Fuyuko,_

 _Think of them like hounds—just slimy (and way cooler). So you're almost of age now then? Fantastic. Have those breasts grown it yet?_

 _You don't have to tell me why you're in Cloud, but I guess I should warn you to be careful up there. The Raikage isn't known to like strangers in his land. While you're up there, there's a nice little hot springs to the west of the hidden village. They serve the most delicious dango! And the servers are pretty hot too!_

 _By the time my book is publishing you'll be long overage by then, nothing to worry about! And I'm sure they'll have a seat waiting for me there._

 _Jiraiya_

 _(Super_ Super _Pervert)_

* * *

 _Jiraiya,_

 _I hate dango._

* * *

 _Fuyuko,_

 _It's been a while, huh? My toads have had trouble finding you for a while there. I hope this letter finds you well kid—should I really call you that anymore? I guess you're all grown up now. If my calculations are correct (and they probably aren't) you're nineteen now, right?_

 _I'm not sure if you'll want to hear this, but I'm back in Konoha for a while. Duty brought me back, can't say much more then that I'm afraid. And unfortunately for me I got roped into teaching a punk ass kid, you may remember him from your time here, Uzumaki Naruto? He's a bit of a loser so I wouldn't expect you to remember him._

 _That's not even what I wanted to tell you about, this kid Naruto is on the same team as Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto won't stop talking about the little blight, says he's his rival. It got me thinking about the stories you told me about you and…uh well, that guy. Anyway, that's_ still _not the reason why I wrote you. I just thought you should know that Sasuke is in the Chuunin exams, he seems to have grown into a strong young man, you'd be proud._

 _Jiraiya_

 _(An older but none the less still Super Pervert)_

* * *

 _Jiraiya,_

 _I'm coming home._

* * *

The Village Hidden in Leaves, once the village had been filled with strife and despair. Four years had changed the village since that fateful _night_. It was if the entire village had forgotten about the monstrosity that had happened to one clan. All but a select few remembered the pain and grief of that night. Hearing the news that many had perished, all by the hands of one man.

There was obviously something else that the village had to gossip about, the upcoming Finals for the Chuunin exams. If you spoke to anyone in the village, they would all say the same: "I'm definitely watching it. Why? Because _Uchiha Sasuke_ is competing."

Taking those first steps back into Konoha was daunting to say the least. She was disappointed that it had to be under a _Henge no jutsu_ , but it was the sacrifice she had to make to save her own skin. Something she had come to live by these past three years in solitude.

Hoshiko handed the familiar faced Chuunin her identification card marking her a Fire country civilian called Fuyuko. She had the thing made a while back from a shady looking man in a busy village. It had cost her a small fortune but was now worth it in the end. The Chuunin didn't detect anything off from her fake papers and her jutsu and let her in with a pleasant nod. Hoshiko adjusted the bag on her shoulder and ran her fingers through the short blonde hair that hung to her shoulders. She had tried to make her appearance as far from hers as possible, but also keeping it plain and simple. She wanted to blend in. Blonde hair and brown eyes it was, she had even made herself taller as to defer from the fact that she was seriously lacking in height even as a nineteen year old.

Hoshiko turned down the main street; giving her full view of the great stone faces some distance away. Her feet faltered for a moment as her eyes widened at the large rock. Even after preparing herself for days that she would be returning home, everything was still a shock to her. She was back in Konoha. She was home. Perching atop the stone faces had been one of her greatest pastimes. Memories started flooding her mind, all the memories she had with Itachi and Sasuke and Shisui. Hoshiko had to physically shut her eyes and shake her head of the thoughts. She couldn't loose face now. For four years she had been strong. She was only here as she had a chance to see Sasuke from afar; she wanted to know how he was. There had never been a day where she didn't think about he little tyke—well, he wasn't so little anymore, was he? He was twelve now, a year older then when she herself had become a Chuunin.

Hoshiko found herself walking around the village for hours. She was revisiting places that she used to frequent as a child. It was strange for her. Even though she had spent the better part of her life in the village, she felt like an outsider once more. She was looking at the village through different eyes now. She was older, wiser; but yet as she glanced around at the people and the places. She had never felt more alone.

She had avoided the Uchiha compound at all costs. She had no intention of ever going there again, she was already plagued with nightmares about that night still. She didn't need to relive any of it again. Instead she found herself in the market district. She approached many of the same stalls, not much had changed in that department. She recognized many of the same faces that had greeted her in her youth.

It wasn't long until she came face to face with the door to her home. Her home had been small and cramped between two larger houses. Steps led up to the door, and from memory Hoshiko could picture herself walking through the small foyer into the open kitchen and living area. She remembered the days when herself, Itachi and Shisui would hang out in the kitchen. Her mother would fuss over the three of them and cook them lunch or dinner.

Her gaze moved along the wall, coming to rest at the small window. The window to her bedroom was shut tightly. Hoshiko wondered if everything looked the same in there. Had her mother touched anything in there? Or had she gotten rid of all of her belongings? She desperately wanted to go in, to retain some form of her old life. She wanted to run her hands along the walls, look at the family pictures she had in her room. Sit on her bed and smell her sheets. They seemed like such trivial things compared to what she had been doing with her life, but it was a reminder that she was still alive. That she hadn't dreamt the past four hellish years.

Her senses prickled. The hair on her arms stood up as she sensed a familiar chakra coming towards her. Hoshiko's disguised brown eyes searched the thick crowd for the person. A part of her wanted to flee, but another small part wanted to stay—just for a moment. She wanted to see them. It had been so long.

There!

She spotted him moving through the crowd. He looked exactly the same from before. His spikey silver hair stood up in every direction. He still covered his eye and instead of wearing his ANBU armor he now garbed the Konoha Jounin uniform. His hands held two bags filled with groceries. He was speaking to someone to the left of him. Hoshiko's eyes slid over to his companion as they went wide. She didn't even sense her with him!

Hiroka held a bag in her hand as she conversed with the Copy ninja. Hoshiko's eyes began to water traitorously. She knew that she would've seen her mother around eventually, but she hadn't prepared herself mentally to see her. Hiroka hadn't changed much in the four years, except now instead of her long brown hair that normally reached her lower back, she had cut it to just above her shoulders. She had a few more wrinkles and dark circles under her eyes that Hoshiko assumed was from restless nights sleep. The pair had walked closer to her standing in front of her home that she could now hear their conversation.

"It's nice of you to offer making the lunch, Hiroka-san," Kakashi said to her. Hiroka waved one bag around.

"Well, it's the least I can do. I want to make sure Sasuke-kun has a healthy balanced meal before his exam tomorrow. How is his training coming along?"

"Very good." Kakashi nodded. "He's picking things up quickly, a trait no doubt inherited from the Uchiha. He's taken a shine to learning the _Raikiri_."

Hiroka's lips parted as she looked up at the Jounin in awe. "Wasn't that something you taught Hoshiko?"

It was strange for Hoshiko to hear her own name come out of her mother's mouth. She hadn't seen or heard her voice in four years. To her, her voice felt like a soothing embrace, how she wished she could just run up to her and hug her tightly.

Kakashi chuckled. "Not exactly. She sort of taught it to herself."

The pair were so close to her now. She could reach out and touch them if she so desired. She wanted to dispel the jutsu and scream at them that she was alive and standing right before them. Her brown eyes flicked between the pair as Hoshiko thought against talking to them. She wouldn't put them in danger. She wouldn't announce herself, she had stayed away to keep them safe and she intended to keep doing just that.

As if fate decided to be cruel to her, Kakashi looked over in her direction. His one uncovered eye found hers for a split second before Hoshiko turned away. Not wanting to cause suspicion. She droned out the rest of Hiroka and Kakashi's conversation and headed away from them. She didn't look back because she was scared that Kakashi would be staring at her, she knew that if his Sharingan had been out he would've seen right through her disguise.

She also didn't look back because she wouldn't have been able to see them through the blurriness of her tears.

 **X**

Hoshiko knew where to find him. It was the first place she had checked and it was no surprise to her that she found him in a booth at the back surround by three gorgeous women. Two were draped over his arms, feeding him food and passing him his cup of sake, no doubt that's what he was drinking. A third was currently stripping her robe off and Hoshiko had to avert her eyes from the scantily clad woman so that she could approach him.

He laughed boisterously, and Hoshiko had to suppress her urge to grin. It had been a while since she had seen him, or heard his voice. She suddenly remembered the jokes that he used to tell her in the teashop together.

Jiraiya's eyes landed on Hoshiko, not recognizing her because of her disguise. He grinned perversely. "Oh! A fourth one, you ladies sure know how to treat a man!" The three women looked over to Hoshiko. They all frowned together, obviously not recognizing her. Hoshiko stepped around the one that was currently disrobing.

"Jiraiya. It's me," Hoshiko sent him a pointed look that he would hopefully recognize after all this time. The Sannin took a few seconds, but he then made the connection. His smile dropped as he unwound himself from around the two women.

"Sorry ladies, you'll have to come back soon. I have important work to do right now." He smacked the rear of the woman on his left. Hoshiko tried not to bring up her breakfast. The three women sent her glares for ruining their fun as they exited the booth and slid the curtains shut around them.

"You're still disgusting as ever, I see," Hoshiko said as she took a seat on the other side of the table, sliding onto the large plush chair. Jiraiya chuckled as he downed another cup of sake.

"The ladies love me even more now that I'm older." Hoshiko grimaced at him as Jiraiya poured another cup and offered it to her.

"No—thank you."

"Come on!" Jiraiya drawled. "You're of age now. I'm a bit disappointed I don't get to see what you _really_ look like." Hoshiko rolled her eyes at the old Sannin and watched him down his drink.

"Just because I'm older now doesn't mean that I'm going to be swayed by your persuasive personality. You forget, I was raised around manipulators."

Jiraiya gave her a pointed look as he poured himself another cup of sake and threw it back like it was water. "Isn't that the truth. So—how're you holding up, kid?"

Hoshiko glanced away from him, looking over to her left. "I'm fine. I didn't come to talk about myself."

"Yes, yes, of course," Jiraiya said as he placed his cup down and leaned towards her. "There's just…something about you—you're different."

"I'm disguised you moron," Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him.

Jiraiya smirked at her, one side of his mouth pulling up. "Yes, I can see that. I just wasn't talking about your appearance."

Hoshiko met his gaze for a moment, and then glanced away. She grew uncomfortable with the way Jiraiya was staring at her. Her mouth parted and a whisper came from her. "Have you seen him? What's he like?"

There was a moment that Jiraiya gazed at her, he trying to imagine what her real expression would look like, not the one this blonde haired brown eyed girl had. The moment ended and the Sannin smirked again. "Haven't met him myself but from what I heard he's a real smart kid. Nowhere near the smarts that his brother had but he's smart in his own right. He's also a real grumpy asshole—according to Naruto that is."

"Good," Hoshiko muttered. "Being smart is what got me into this mess. I guess he may have picked up the attitude from me." Jiraiya chuckled deeply as Hoshiko looked towards the door. "I should go. As much as I want to stay and chat with you I shouldn't be around you."

"No one's going to know who you are, kid," Jiraiya said firmly.

"I'm not willing to take that chance. If anyone found out I was back—I don't want to think about what could happen."

Jiraiya sighed. "I get it. I really do. I just wish for your sake that it didn't have to be this way."

Hoshiko chuckled. She reached over and quickly poured herself a cup of sake and chugged it quickly. "So do I, Jiraiya-san." Hoshiko grimaced at the foul tasting alcohol as she dropped the cup onto the table and stood up. "I'll try and find you before I leave again."

Jiraiya held up his cup in a toast to her. "See you around then."

* * *

The day of the final exams came around. Hoshiko had gotten there just as Uzumaki Naruto had beaten a Hyuuga. Hoshiko was impressed. She had fought a few Hyuuga's in her time in Konoha. They weren't exactly easy, so she was surprised when she watched the blonde haired kid running around the arena blowing kisses to the audience. As Hoshiko watched him, she actually recognized him. She had defended the kid when he was a child from the horrible shop vendors. She smirked in recollection. Hoshiko was sat next to a couple to her right and a young woman to her left. All of them were talking about the upcoming fight of Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara of the Sand. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing the villagers could talk about. To her disappointment, it was announced that Sasuke's match would be postponed as he and Kakashi was running late.

 _Typical_ , Hoshiko thought with a grin on her face. Leave it to Kakashi to be late with his own pupil for his Chuunin exam. She watched with the other villagers as a Genin from Suna forfeited his match. And then a Konoha Genin outsmarted the other Suna team member to win his own match without so much as breaking a sweat. She was impressed with the kid. His intelligence was astounding. She thought that maybe this kid could give Itachi a run for his money.

The crowd was waiting anxiously for Sasuke to arrive. The chatter was deafening as they all wanted to see the Uchiha fight. Hoshiko was eager to just see the little prat. The proctor was standing in the middle of the arena; his eyes were scanning the crowd and then settled on the Hokage up in the stands. The proctor raised his hand, signaling that he was about to call off the match when suddenly a mini tornado appeared in the middle of the arena. Dust and leaves flew around the two figures that had suddenly appeared.

Hoshiko felt her heart skip a beat when she laid her eyes on the form of Sasuke. It was a shock to her, to see him so grown up now. The last time she had seen him he had been eight years old and unconscious. She was near the front of the stands, but still couldn't make out what he really looked like. Was he a spitting image of his older brother now? She could see that his hair was still the same weird combination of spikey at the back and flat at the front. He wore a black one piece and she could see the glint of his Hitai-ate.

The roar of the crowd was instantaneous. People were out of their seats cheering for Sasuke's arrival. A few words were spoken between Kakashi and the proctor. From the tunnel a figure walked out. Hoshiko saw that it was the third Genin member from Suna.

There was a popping sound behind her as Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder, stunned to see Kakashi ten rows back. He stood with Might Guy, a man Hoshiko remembered from her youth. She couldn't hear what they were talking about from her distance from them. She didn't want to draw attention to herself so she turned around and set her eyes on the two boys down below.

The match started. Hoshiko watched Sasuke throw shuriken and sprint around the boy with the ultimate defense. She had heard whispers in her time of solitude, about a boy with a sand defense that was impenetrable. This must be that boy. As the fight continued on, Hoshiko could feel the awe and pride welling up in her chest. Sasuke's speed was incredible. It was definitely a no brainer why Kakashi had been Sasuke's teacher. She watched him speed around Gaara, the boys sand not able to keep up with the sheer speed of the Uchiha. Sasuke managed to land a few hits onto him, which had the crowd going wild.

It wasn't until Sasuke managed to land a direct hit onto Gaara's cheek that the feel of the atmosphere changed. Hoshiko could feel the malice in the air as Gaara suddenly cocooned himself into a little sand ball. Sasuke tried to breach it but it was no use.

It was then that Sasuke moved himself back up the wall of the arena, giving him space from the Suna Genin. Hoshiko smirked. She assumed that something big was going to happen. Sasuke wouldn't have given himself that much room if he wasn't planning an attack.

And then she heard it. That sharp chirping sound. She felt the raw power emanating from the Uchiha as he was suddenly bathed in a blue glow. _Raikiri_ , she thought. Her jaw dropped and her body stood up from her chair on its own accord as she watched the young boy race down the side of the arena wall. Sasuke pierced the sand armor.

Hoshiko turned her head; she glanced back at Kakashi who stood there with a satisfied look on his face as he conversed with Guy and some other young Genin's. A scream tore through the arena, Sasuke's jutsu having made contact with Gaara. Kakashi's attention was diverted to the arena, and then he noticed Hoshiko staring at him. Hoshiko spun back around quickly, afraid that he would recognize her from standing outside her house the other day. She couldn't concentrate on the match anymore as she could feel eyes on the back of her head. Was Kakashi still staring at her? She had to know.

She angled her head slightly to the left, trying to see the silver haired Jounin out of the corner of her eye. Her heart sunk when she saw that his hand was lifting his headband. _Shit_ , she hissed to herself. He would see through her disguise in a second. She had to get out, now.

She didn't want to see if he had looked in her direction with his Sharingan again, as she leapt off to the right and to one of the exits of the arena. Her feet pounded against the stone flooring. She used her chakra senses and swore in her loudly when she could sense Kakashi catching up to her. So he had most definitely seen that she was currently using a _Henge no jutsu_. She could see a set of stairs ahead of her, she just had to jump down them and then once she was out the large doors she would be able to really run.

She heard Kakashi unleash a jutsu, one of his signature ones as suddenly a large mud wall went up in front of her. Hoshiko smacked right into it. She had been completely caught off guard from it. She hadn't wanted to expose who she was by the way she used her old techniques so she had thought running would've been the best idea. She was wrong, and now Kakashi had caught her.

As Hoshiko bounced off the wall she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder as she was roughly spun around. Her eyes met Kakashi's black and red as his free hand came up in the rat seal.

"Kai!"

In a puff of smoke she felt her jutsu release. She was suddenly a head shorter than her disguise. Black locks fell around her eyes instead of sandy blonde hair. Her attire had stayed the same though. Her pupil less silver eyes stared up at Kakashi.

His reaction was instant. He stumbled back from her, both of his eyes as wide as the moon. She could see the outline of his mouth through his mask; it was opened into a stunned silence. His hand shook slightly, hovering above her shoulder, like he was afraid that if he touched her again she would simply disappear. With Kakashi's concentration shot to hell, the mud wall behind Hoshiko's back crumbled into dust. She felt the debris trickle down the bare skin of her legs as it pooled around her feet.

Kakashi's complexion had turned a pasty white. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He was in a sense. He tried to speak a few times, his mouth closing and opening but no sound was heard. Finally, he was able to choke a word out. "Hoshiko?" His eyes were scanning all over her face, his Sharingan confirming what he saw by the way her chakra felt. He would know it anywhere. Hoshiko's expression turned sad. She hadn't wanted this to happen. Now this complicated things. She had been stupid and reckless. But a small part of her thought that maybe she had wanted this to happen, maybe she wanted someone—other than Jiraiya—to know that she was in fact alive.

"Hello, Kakashi." It was like her speaking confirmed it for him. The sound of her voice had stayed the same after four years. She looked the same, her features thinning out with maturity. She no longer had a child's face. She was an adult. She had grown into her awkward features; her nose was no longer too long for her face. Her cheeks didn't make her look three years younger. She was different, but still her.

"How can this be? They had your body—they found you—killed by Itachi," Kakashi suddenly gripped her shoulders painfully. "Are you really her!?"

Hoshiko nodded. "It's me." Kakashi looked elated. He released her shoulders.

"What happened to you? Where have you been?"

"I can't say," Hoshiko replied softly. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her.

"What do you mean? You can't do that. We've all thought you've been dead for four years! Your mother…"

"It needs to stay this way, Kakashi."

The man shook his head. "No it doesn't. Itachi is long gone from the village. If you survived him once you can do it again. We'll protect you. I'll protect you."

Hoshiko hardened her stare. "Itachi wasn't the one who stabbed me."

Kakashi's raised his eyebrows in alarm. "Then who?" Hoshiko shook her head at him.

"I'm sorry, I can't say. I can't put you in danger too. No one was ever meant to find out about me." Hoshiko moved away but Kakashi reached out and pulled her back.

"What do you mean? So you were just going to live the rest of your life on your own?"

"It's worked so far, hasn't it?" She snapped at him. Her thoughts suddenly drifted to Ren, Aishi and Sadao. She hadn't thought about them in a while. It was after their deaths that Hoshiko had lived on her own. And for three years, no one else had died because of her.

"Why won't you come home?" Kakashi asked her, releasing her arm gently.

"Why do you think?" Hoshiko hissed at him. Her eyes narrowed to slits. "Because the person I'm hiding from is still here in Konoha. I have enemies in Konoha and out there too." She pointed in the direction of the village gates, "Itachi was not the one to try and kill me. We fought and I lost. He left me out in the forest."

"Who was it?" Kakashi demanded from her.

"If I told you, and someone found out, you'd be killed. I can't have anyone else's blood on my hands, Kakashi."

"Your mother misses you—"

"Don't do that," Hoshiko said bitterly. Kakashi wasn't surprised by her reaction. "Do you think I want to stay away?" Her eyes began to fill with angry tears. "Do you think I want everyone I _ever_ cared about to think that I was dead? I'm staying away to _protect_ them. This is to protect my mother, Sasuke and you. He has threatened her before and he tried to kill me. If I came back, I know for sure that he will kill anyone that I care about to teach me a lesson." Hoshiko could see the pity in Kakashi's eyes.

"No one would ever tell. Sasuke would benefit from it if he knew you were alive."

"How can I face him?" Hoshiko exclaimed. "I couldn't stop his own brother from murdering his family! I deserted him that night to chase after Itachi when I should've stayed with him!" They were both silent for a few moments before a deep rumbling was heard. The ground under their feet started to shake and the ceiling above their heads started to crumble.

"What's going on?" Kakashi questioned, looking around.

"The village is under attack," Hoshiko stated. Kakashi spun around to face her.

"How do you know that?" Just as he spoke, a large explosion rocked the arena. Both Kakashi and Hoshiko braced themselves against the wall. Kakashi looked back towards the doorway, which he had chased Hoshiko from. He could make out the figures of people jumping around out there. The sounds of a battle could be heard. "I need to go," Kakashi said and he turned back to see if Hoshiko would join him…instead she was gone.

"Hoshiko!" He called out the empty hallway, but he knew that she wouldn't come back.

* * *

It always seemed to rain in Konoha. It always rained when someone died. Hoshiko remembered that it rained the day she had come to Konoha. It rained the day her father died, and it rained the day that Shisui died. It was raining again now, this time it was the Third Hokage who had died.

He died as he had lived. Protecting his village. He gave his life to try and stop Orochimaru, a man hell bent on revenge. This was something Hoshiko knew well. For four years she had been plotting her own revenge, and now it was finally the time for her to strike.

She stood atop the Hokage stone monument, in another time she would have stopped to admire the view, but too much was at stake now. She had to act quickly before the others caught on to her. Her disguise was now gone, she had no need to hide behind it for the moment. If everything went according to her plan, no one would know it had been her behind it.

Her tattered ANBU mask was secured to her face, her features hidden from the world. Her black hair, touching the end of her shoulder blades hung loose and stuck to her clothes and exposed skin from the heavy downpour. She had changed from her simple civilian clothing into her ninja gear. Three quarter black pants with black boots that reached above her ankle. Hidden beneath her short black cloak was a long sleeved black shirt, cutting off just above her bellybutton.

Her silver eyes, once full of life and light and love now narrowed dangerously, their colour a murky grey. A crow flew overhead, it cawed once and Hoshiko disappeared from the monument silently.

In the quiet and dimly lit room, a single candle illuminated the space. The darkness from outside did nothing to light the room up from the single window by the sliding door. A man sat reading from a small book, the flame from the candle cast a shadow behind him. A table was in front him with a mug of hot tea. His two guards by his side both remained stoic with their hands crossed behind their back.

A flash of lightning lit up the room for a second, followed by the sound of roaring thunder. The mans face tilted up, his one exposed beady eye glancing out the window for a second. He could see nothing but the drips of water pelting against the glass. His gaze lowered just as another bolt of lightning shot across the sky.

As the thunder sounded overhead, two more sounds accompanied it. The bodies of his guard collapsed to the floor, blood pooling under them. Danzo had no time to yell for help as he felt the cool metal of a blade press against his jugular. His body froze of it's own accord. He felt the blade move against his skin and heard slow and deliberate footsteps on the wooden flooring. From his peripheral he could make out a figure slowly moving to stand in front of him.

Hoshiko's grip on her Wakizashi never wavered. Blood dripped from the shining blade. She watched as it dripped onto Danzo's white and grey robes. She knew he wouldn't recognize her immediately. She was hoping to see some emotion on his face, mainly fear. She wanted to see the terror in his eyes. She wanted him to know what it was like to look death right in the face and wonder if this was it. Instead the old man remained as stoic as ever, his expression bored.

"Shall I see the face of my attacker?" Danzo drawled. Hoshiko had half a mind to just end his life there, be done with it and go. But a part of her wanted him to know that it was her. With her free hand she tore the mask from her face and let it drop to the floor. Danzo's lips quirked upwards. "I should have known really."

"Surprised to see me alive, Danzo?" Hoshiko asked bitterly, pressing the sword harder against his skin. The old man chuckled.

"I knew one day you would crawl out of whatever hole you had fallen into to come back to me."

"You tried to kill me," Hoshiko hissed out.

"Multiple times, really. You always had some way of surviving, it's what made you interesting."

"Multiple?" Hoshiko questioned, her brows knitting together in confusion. Danzo scoffed.

"Oh yes, dear girl. Do you really think that was the first time I had tried to have you killed? Don't you think I was strange that in your ANBU exam, everything was going so well until you had that _unfortunate_ accident, causing you to almost kill Hatake Kakashi? Or how about when you and that Uchiha brat went on your Hanabira mission that Orochimaru knew exactly where you would be?" Hoshiko hardened her gaze at him, she didn't want him to think that she was growing unstable because of his revelation.

"And why else did I want it to be _you_ who confronted Uchiha Itachi. I had placed my bets on both of you killing each other off so I wouldn't have to worry about you two anymore. You had both become too powerful for your own good. Instead that good for nothing Uchiha decided to leave you withering away on the floor. I took matters into my own hands."

Hoshiko growled like an animal. Her vision was tinted red as she became enraged. Using her unthinkable speed she took ahold of Danzo's free arm and slammed it against the table. Before the old man could defend himself Hoshiko had thrust her Wakizashi down, piercing his hand and pinning it to the table.

Danzo grunted in pain. His jaw locked as he glared straight into Hoshiko blazing eyes. "Do you think this is a fucking game?" Hoshiko screeched. Her grip on her blade tightened as she twisted the metal. Danzo's flesh curled around her blade as he bared his teeth at her. "I've lost everything because of you! I'm going to kill you here, Danzo. And I am going to make it very _very_ painful."

Hoshiko pulled the blade out. Danzo didn't wince as blood gushed out of his hand. Using her foot Hoshiko kicked the table to the other side of the room. The cup smashed against the wall, the lukewarm tea dripping down the paneling. The candle went out, casting the whole room into darkness. Hoshiko lunged for Danzo just as the old man began to raise the bandage on his covered Sharingan.

The window smashed behind them. Hoshiko twisted around, preparing to fight Danzo's subordinates. Frigid cold wind blew into the room as a cloaked figure jumped through the window and approached her. Her mind wasn't on Danzo anymore as she prepared to fight this new attacker. Her sword was at the ready but it wasn't any use. They expertly dodged her first attack and came face to face.

The last thing Hoshiko saw before she blacked out was the swirling iris of the Sharingan.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Sorry it took me a little while to get this out, I recently got back into the workforce after being unemployed for a long time and I'm still trying to set out a writing schedule for myself. Plus it's bloody exhausting working full time again. But anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, finally we have one where it isn't so depressing all the time. And huzzah, no one died in this chapter! And seeing as so many of you loved Hoshiko and Jiraiya's relationship I just had to bring the pervert back, god he's fun to write!  
**

 **Were you all surprised about the Kakashi reunion? Sadly no Sasuke reunion this time and go Hoshiko on finally confronting that bastard Danzo!  
**

 **And who do you think was the cloaked figure that stopped her fight? I'd love to hear your theories! Soon we'll be getting into some lighthearted content and then the Itachi reunion! Gahhh I can't wait!**

 **REPLIES**

The Queen1615 - Thank you! Your heart should be ok for a few more chapters! But no promises!

blueerimartian - Yes our girl Hoshiko is finally grown up! You'll be getting information on what she did those three years we didnt see and how she's grown in her skills and as a person! There's you Kakashi and Hoshiko reunion! Can't wait for the Itachi one too! That's going to be so exciting to write I can't wait!

\- Thank you! Sorry for making those tears but I love it actually. Hopefully no crying this time around! It'll be a bit more light hearted soon, our sassy Hoshiko will be back!

kwisy - Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this one reunion

Emocean - Thank you! I'm so happy you thought that about Jiraiya! I was worried I wasn't going to get his perverse nature right, I hope i do him justice for everyone!

kayna96 - I know its been very sad and depressing but most of that is all over now! We've got funny times and reunion times to look foward to now!

Doodles - Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this reunion. I know everyone is probably waiting for the Itachi one and it will come, not just yet but it will and it'll be worth the wait! As for the Sasuke reunion it won't be for a little while, I'm sad about that cause I love their relationship when they were younger, ah so cute!

MeandNotYou1001 - Same fam. Same. All this angst, but gotta do it. I loved the relationship that these two formed. He may pop up again in future chapters but he's not really a main character in this. I only planned for him to be in those two (now three because of people loving him) but we'll see what happens.

machiaveIIian - Yes i do tend to do that in my stories...whoops. Thank you so much! Trust me, the ride is not ending anytime soon with what I have planned for Hoshiko and Itachi! Buckle up kiddos! I've only mentioned once because someone asked but I don't really have a schedule. Right now I'm struggling to write as I've just started a new job and it's taking up a lot of time and energy for my body getting used to it. I try to have one out within 2 weeks. Sometimes if i write fast i can smash 2 out within a week but that rarely happens now. But honestly a new chapter will be out every month i can guarantee that. And I'm not going anywhere!

 **Thank you so much for your reviews guys! I love hearing about your reactions to the chapters, i live and breathe for them (ok not really lol) but they do mean the world to me! Let me know what you thought and I'll see you all next time!**


	25. Farewell For Now

_Farewell For Now._

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

Hoshiko inhaled sharply as she sat up. Her hand automatically went to her throat; her first thought being that she had been killed. But then she came to realize that she was in fact alive and breathing. She could hear the pouring rain around her and noticed that above her a blanket had been set between two branches so that she had shield from the rain. That meant she couldn't have been out too long as it had still been raining in Konoha when she had confronted Danzo.

Hoshiko sensed someone nearby, only a few feet away from her. She recognized the chakra and sighed deeply. This was exactly what she _didn't_ want happening by anyone finding out that she was alive. Hoshiko got to her feet and lifted the blanket up a little to duck under it and out into the sprinkling rain. The rain wasn't as torrential as before, now it was just a light splatter. Hoshiko saw him sitting on a small boulder. The rain had flattened his hair somewhat, and raindrops dripped off his dark cloak.

"How did you find me?" Hoshiko asked him.

He barely glanced over his shoulder at her, his uncovered eye showing disappointment in her. "I had Pakkun track you."

Hoshiko smirked. "Forgot about that little mutt. So what, you decided to save me? To try and divert me from the path of revenge?"

Kakashi rose from the rock, he stormed over to her. His tall frame towered over her short one. Hoshiko had to crane her neck back to look at him. "How could you even think about trying to take Danzo on?"

"He had to pay for what he did to me!" Hoshiko shot back.

"Revenge is not the way, you know this."

"It's the only thing that's been keeping me going all these years. You shouldn't have interfered! Now I'll never have another chance at him. Danzo knows I'm alive now, what do you think he's going to do to my mother? Did you ever think about that?" Hoshiko was shaking her head at him. She let out a breath of frustrated air and turned away from her old friend.

"Your mother is safe, I assure you," Kakashi told her. Hoshiko glanced back at him. "I had a feeling that something like this would happen. After our conversation at the arena I knew you had to be back to get revenge on whoever hurt you. I took her to a safe location, no one will know where she is."

Hoshiko bit down on her bottom lip, she had never been more thankful for Kakashi in her life. He truly had taken care of her mother when she had not. "Does she know why?" Hoshiko asked timidly.

"No," Kakashi stated. "I…I couldn't tell her. All she knows is that I believed someone may hurt her. You should go to her, tell her what's going on."

"I can't," Hoshiko whispered. "I can't risk it. Danzo is probably searching everywhere for me now. He wont stop until I'm dead, I know it."

Kakashi sighed. "What will you do?"

Hoshiko smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Do what I've been doing the past four years."

"No one should live like that, especially not you, Hoshiko," Kakashi said sincerely. "What of your mother? It's not fair to keep her in the dark like this. She'll be scared and worried."

"It's better than being dead," Hoshiko snapped. "Take her away from the Village. To another country if you must. Danzo must never find her. She can return when either one of us is dead."

"Hoshiko!" Kakashi exclaimed, horror on his face.

"It's the truth!" Hoshiko retorted. Hoshiko looked around, seeing that it was getting darker. She needed to go; she didn't know how many ANBU Danzo would have dispatched already. She couldn't risk Kakashi being found out. "I need to leave."

"Where will you go? Danzo has spies everywhere. If you go to any of the Hidden Villages he'll know."

"Then I won't be going to the villages," Hoshiko said smartly, crossing her arms. She rolled her eyes when she saw Kakashi's blank expression. "Look you don't have to worry about me. I've been getting work from outlying villages. Sometimes they have problems and they pay me to help out. I know what I'm doing."

Kakashi sighed and relaxed his body. "I believe you…it's just…the last time you said that—we lost you."

"But not really," Hoshiko said sarcastically. She cleared her throat awkwardly when she saw the dark look Kakashi gave her. "Sorry—but it's true! I'm hard to kill apparently." Kakashi gave her a perplexed look. Hoshiko waved her hand in dismissal. Kakashi let out a small chuckle.

"You really haven't changed much."

Hoshiko grinned back. "I have. This is just a face. I'm really burying four years worth of anxiety and trauma. I'm sure it'll all come to a head soon enough." Hoshiko realized she was stalling. She did have to leave, she had screwed up her plan, and now she needed to go. Talking to Kakashi had given her a sense of purpose again. It was like she was finally waking up from her dream.

With that, she stepped towards Kakashi and threw her arms around his torso. She had surprised the Jonin as he let out a surprised grunt at the force of her hug. After a moment he returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly. "Thank you," Hoshiko whispered into his damp jacket. "You looked after her all this time. I wish there was something I could do to repay you." Hoshiko felt his fingers brush down her hair. She relished in it, it had been so long since she had felt normal human interaction.

Kakashi sighed. "Just…come home—one day." Hoshiko remained silent. "I didn't tell you before but…Hoshiko…I'm really glad you're alive. And even though you were a pain in my ass most days—you're a good person. You have a good heart, and you deserve to be happy."

Hoshiko pulled away and wiped at her eyes quickly, she didn't want Kakashi to see her crying. She knew that it would've been hard for her close friends to learn of her death, but to hear how much she had been missed really struck a chord with her. "Kakashi, can I ask you something?" She stared up at him, meeting his dark eye. "Can I have your Icha-Icha book?" There was a moment of pure silence before the older ninja started to laugh. "It's not for that!" Hoshiko defended herself with a glare.

"Then what for?" Kakashi asked her, holding his stomach as he continued to quietly chuckle.

Hoshiko crossed her arms and pouted, turning her face away from him so he wouldn't see her slight blush. "I just—I wanted to…oh forget it!" She turned her back on him stubbornly and started to storm away when she felt a hand grip her shoulder tightly and spin her back around. Hoshiko gasped as a little green book was shoved into her hands. Her eyes shot up to stare at Kakashi. He was looking down at her with a soft gaze. She could see by the lines at the side of his eye that he was smiling down at her too.

"Be safe, Hoshiko."

Hoshiko gave him one final smile before she turned and sped off into the trees. Kakashi watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore.

 **X**

Hoshiko slowed her pace after she deemed herself far enough away from Konoha. She dropped down from the treetops and landed in a small clearing. It would be ideal for her camp for the night. She got to work at setting up traps around the perimeter. She wanted to be warned if any of Danzo's lackeys came looking for her. After that was done Hoshiko set up her small campfire and laid out her bedroll that she kept in her pack. She fished out a few packets of ready cooked food that she had picked up at the ninja stores in Konoha and started eating with her fingers. That was the one thing Hoshiko missed about being in a village, having proper cooked meals. It was very rare that Hoshiko would stop somewhere in a village and have steaming ramen or other wonderful food. Konoha's food had been a welcomed luxury, and now it was back to reality. Living on the road and eating whatever she managed to hunt during the day.

After her belly was full of pre-steamed rice Hoshiko sat back on her hands and extended her legs out before her. The fire warmed them, it was slowly turning to winter once more in the Fire country, and so the nights were growing darker quicker and becoming much more cold. As she flexed her fingers they brushed against something to the side of her. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the little green book camouflaged against the grass. A small smile came over her face as she reached for it and held it in her hands. She examined the cover of the Icha-Icha book. It was tattered, probably from many reads over the years. Some of the cover had ripped at the edges. Even though Hoshiko abhorred the series and what it was about, she couldn't deny that I quelled some of the homesickness that she felt. She began to flick through the pages, her thumb running along the paper when something suddenly dropped out from the pages. Hoshiko caught it between her legs as she shut the book and put it down to the side of her. She reached for the little green leaf that had fallen as she pinched it between two fingers and held it up to her face.

Hoshiko smiled. Trust Kakashi to do something like this. On the leaf, the village symbol had been drawn onto it. Hoshiko guessed that this was Kakashi's ways of letting her know that she wasn't alone. That Konoha would always be her home.

* * *

In the early hours of the morning Hoshiko made her move. She didn't want to stay in one place for too long, not with Danzo probably out looking for her. Her best chance was to leave the Fire Country as quickly as she could. She stuck to the forest when travelling; she wasn't going to take any chances using the roads. Danzo has a lot of connections, and she wouldn't be surprised if he had civilian looking people on the roads watching for her. No, her best chance at survival was to keep as far away from the villages and towns as possible.

Her travel was long and arduous. She ran for thirteen hours straight before she arrived at her destination. Her legs were sore and her back was aching but she felt relief. Hoshiko was positive that no one would know about this place. Her eyes settled on the cabin poking through the foliage of the trees and bushes surrounding it. It had been a long time since she had been here. It was the last time she had seen Jiraiya before she had returned to Konoha. She used the last of her energy to check her surroundings for any enemies, and to her relief she sensed none.

A small feeling of sadness washed over her when she realized she was alone, there had been a tiny part of her that had hoped that maybe Jiraiya had been waiting for her. Maybe he might have realized she would come back here and come to meet her. She pushed the feeling away, she couldn't start getting attached to people again. Look at what happened to Ren, Aishi and Sadao. Just because she had seen Kakashi and Jiraiya again after so long did not mean that she had forgotten what happened to those she once had bonds with.

Hoshiko approached the cabin, her feet dragging through the long grass. A gust of wind blew around her, and blew ash up into the air.

Ash?

She paused, looking down at the fire pit. Sure enough, fresh ash was swirling in the wind and some was still under the branches. Hoshiko felt her spine tingle; someone had been to the cabin recently. It couldn't have been Jiraiya, she had gotten here too quickly from Konoha, and with the third dead, and she assumed that he would need to stay there to help out with repairs.

Hoshiko used her senses one last time, making sure that she truly was alone in the forest. She was. She passed by the fire and went to the door of the cabin. She pushed it open hesitantly with her foot, making sure that no traps or anything would be activated from the door being opened. When there was none Hoshiko had to tell herself that maybe it was just a traveller that came across the cabin and stayed for the night. Its not like Jiraiya owned the place.

Hoshiko entered the dark room. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness as she used a quick fire jutsu to light the two hanging lanterns in the room. Once she had light she turned her gaze to the floor. True enough there were footprints in the dust. The single bed looked like it had been turned down and even one of the windows was cracked open slightly, leaving the clear air to freely come in.

Someone had been here, but they had left probably almost a day before Hoshiko had got there. She was safe, for now. Hoshiko wouldn't truly feel safe until she was out of the fire country.

She dropped her bag onto the floor and locked the front door. It may not keep Shinobi out, but I did make her feel a little bit more secure. She didn't have the chakra to put up any barriers around the cabin; she just had to hope that during her sleep she wasn't going to get attacked. Her next stop was the window; she closed it and locked the latch. She fished out a packet of rice from her bag, she didn't have time to heat it up so she just ripped the top off and ate it stone cold.

She flopped onto the bed belly down, her head hit the pillow as she gripped onto her kunai and slipped her hand under the pillow. She was out cold after a minute.

* * *

Two figures walked steadily along the road. Two single bells jingled with each step they took. Both were draped in long black cloaks, decorated with red clouds. One of the men was considerably taller than the other; he had a large sword strapped to his back. The other was smaller, no fancy weaponry on his back. His face was hidden beneath his straw hat. Both men were silent until the taller of the two finally spoke.

"Man this sucks. My back is killing me, wish we could've found another one of those cabins around here," his head tilted a little, showing off his jagged teeth and remarkable blue skin.

"Hn," the shorter of the two replied back.

"Well, makes sense seeing as you're really from around here. You'd know where all the little hideouts would be." He didn't receive a reply from his partner this time. The large blue man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "So how long until we reach the village?"

"I thought we agreed no questions, Kisame."

Kisame chuckled. "About why we're going to Konoha, I'm asking about how damn long it's gonna take. You're in a weird mood, Itachi-san." Kisame smiled. "Oh, I know why. This is the first time you're heading back after killing your family. Itching to finish the job, eh?" Kisame grinned, showing his sharp teeth once more. Itachi didn't bother to reply this time. He had been dealing with Kisame's persistent attitude for almost a year now. The best way to deal with Kisame was to not reply to him, soon enough he would get bored.

"Say…" Kami, Itachi really wanted Kisame to shut up now. "You were some sort of hot shot back in your village." Kisame looked down at the Uchiha and waggled his eyebrows at him. Itachi wasn't looking to witness the horrific move. "You have a special person that kept you company at night?" What Itachi would give to use some form of Genjutsu on the man.

"No," Itachi replied.

Kisame chuckled, "Shame that—"

"I killed her." Kisame halted in his tracks. He watched as Itachi continued on as if nothing had happened. Kisame wasn't really surprised. The kid had killed his own mother and father, why was that girl any different? "We're here, Kisame." Itachi called out from up head. True enough, Kisame caught up with the Uchiha as they both saw the perimeter wall of Konoha appear before them.

* * *

" _Where is he?" Hoshiko hissed harshly at the Sound lackey. Her kunai poised at their neck. Her other arm held their hands to their back painfully._

" _He's not here!" The young boy said. "He left to his southern hideout yesterday!"_

" _Good," Hoshiko said darkly. "Thanks for the help." With a quick and effortless slash, Hoshiko cut his throat. The boy gargled and gasped for breath as he collapsed to the floor. Hoshiko watched the blood pool around his body for a moment before wiping the blood on the boy's clothes and moving on. She ignored the fact that the boy had been younger than her. In her eyes, he worked for Orochimaru, which meant that he was bad. She didn't feel any remorse for ending his life._

 _She had scouted out some of the hideout before she had entered, but the place so was huge that it was impossible for her to find each and every person in the base. Now thanks to the kid, she knew that Orochimaru wasn't here, she had free reign on his base._

 _It had been by chance that she had found this place. She had been travelling around when she had stumbled across a small village. She was about to leave when she saw two sound ninja's leaving the village. She tailed them, and they led her right to the base. She had then scouted it out for a few days before finally entering it._

 _Hoshiko hurried down the dim corridors. She scratched the walls every time she turned a new corner; she wanted to be able to find her way back once this was done. The base was huge and it would be easy for her to get lost in it._

 _She found a door down one of the corridors. She approached it and peeked in quickly. The room was dark but she could see tubes filled with what looked like green water. Hoshiko checked over her shoulder and entered the room, shutting the door behind her and running over to the candles and lighting them with a fire jutsu. She lit it so that she could see into the room without squinting. She deduced that she was in one of Orochimaru's lab. Thankfully there were no bodies in the test tubes. Hoshiko saw a wooden desk with a pile of books on one side. Covering the opposite wall to the door was a huge bookshelf, full of scrolls, parchment and books. It would've taken Hoshiko years to read every one of them. She ignored the bookcase and went to the desk; she guessed that maybe the important things would be on the desk._

 _She didn't know what she was looking for, just something that help her try and defeat the snake man or help herself. Knowing a few forbidden jutsu's might come in handy one day. She started going through the thick books. They were mostly filled with information about all the clans throughout the countries. She found information on nearly all the clans in Konoha, including the Uchiha. She wasn't surprised to see nothing on her own clan. They had been very secretive, just like the Hyuuga. The Byakugan wielders had one paragraph. Her Ginyoru clan had nothing._

 _Hoshiko sighed and slammed the book shut forcefully. She was annoyed at herself for thinking she'd be able to find a weakness about Orochimaru in these type of books. The good stuff he'd probably have hidden deeper in the base. From the force of her book slamming, a lone piece of paper flew off the table and floated to the stone floor. Hoshiko saw it and bent down to pick it up. What she saw on the paper had her frowning._

'Possession of the Sharingan – Failed. Motives compromised. Abandoned post in Akatsuki.'

 _Possession of the Sharingan? Orochimaru was trying to obtain the Sharingan, but for what purpose? What did it mean by motives compromised? Hoshiko saw at the top corner of the page that the date had been scribbled in. This had only happened about a year ago. But the only people with the Sharingan left were Sasuke and Itachi. It couldn't have been Sasuke. There had been no word of Orochimaru ever being near Konoha during that time period. She knew this because last year he had been seen last in cloud country. So it must have been Itachi…_

 _Akatsuki…she knew that name. She knew it because she had managed to get her hands on an updated Bingo Book recently. She hadn't been surprised to see Itachi's picture in the book. It had listed him in league with an organization called the Akatsuki._

 _Well, whatever Orochimaru was up to. It seemed that not even he was skilled enough to get his hands on Itachi's Sharingan. Hoshiko set down the paper and turned so her back was now facing the desk. She took another look around the room and shocked herself when she saw another desk in the corner of the room that she had missed previously. She hurried over to it, and then clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her shocked gasp._

 _On the desk was an old and rotted hand. It was held up on a stand. Hoshiko didn't even want to know the reasoning behind him having this hand. The interesting thing about the hand was that on the index finger was a small silver ring. It had a red circular base and the word 'Void' on it. Hoshiko wondered what the hell the importance of the ring or hand was?_

 _A door slammed from down the hall. Hoshiko flinched, knowing that her time was up. Without giving it too much thought Hoshiko pocketed the ring. Nothing bad seemed to happen when she took the ring from the hands finger. She expected it to clamp down on her or suddenly jump to life to strangle her, but nothing. Turning on her heel Hoshiko quickly hightailed it out of Orochimaru's base._

 **X**

Hoshiko's eyes opened slowly. She winced and moved her face away from the sunlight that had been streaming in through the window across from the bed. She shifted around on the bed, the springs beneath her squeaking as she sat up slowly and rubbed her face. Even though she had slept over thirteen hours it seemed, she was still completely exhausted. Her non-stop travelling was wearing her thin it seemed. Hoshiko sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, going over the dream she had just had. It hadn't really been a dream, more of a memory. A memory of a year ago. She wondered why her subconscious had thought of it at that moment. Why now? What significance did it hold?

Hoshiko remembered the ring. She turned her head to look at her backpack on the floor by her feet. She bent down and started looking through the little pockets until she finally found it. Hoshiko laid the ring in the palm of her hand as she examined it once more. She hadn't really thought about it since stealing it from Orochimaru's hideout a year ago. Honestly it seemed like junk. She sensed no chakra from it, no indication that the ring was special in any way.

She wondered what the 'Void' meant. Hoshiko held it up to the sunlight between two fingers as she brought it closer to her eyes. Maybe there was something else inscribed along the metal.

Nope. Nothing.

She sighed and dropped the ring onto the blanket next to her. Looks like she picked up a dud. Maybe it was sentimental to Orochimaru. It was hanging off a dead persons hand…maybe it was a relative's ring? In any case, Orochimaru hadn't managed to track her down and steal it back from her; did he even know that it was gone?

" _Ribbit!"_

Hoshiko frowned, hearing the familiar noise as suddenly something slimy and wet slapped the side of her face. "Urgh!" she groaned, flicking the orange frog off her and onto the floor. She glared down at the little amphibian. "You're disgusting."

" _Ribbit!"_

Hoshiko rolled her eyes at the creature. She noticed the little pack on its bag as she leant down and untied the scroll from the bag. She knew who had sent the frog. There was only one person in the world that she knew that could summon these type of frogs and have them find her anywhere in the world. Jiraiya. Hoshiko unfurled the curled paper, her eyes skimming over the scribble.

 _Kid,_

 _What the hell did you do? I'm just going to cut right to the chase. The village elders know that you're alive. With the Sandaime dead_ _I was called into a meeting with the advisors when Danzo appeared and announced that you had been seen in the village!_

 _Just tell me the truth, did you really try and kill Danzo? What the hell is that about? Look, I know you never told me much about why you left Konoha and everything. The only thing I heard was that Uchiha Itachi 'killed' you. If that's the case then why go after Danzo? Is he a threat to the village?_

 _By now you're long gone from the village I hope. The advisors and Danzo have all agreed to keep your status a secret from the rest of the village. Well, actually it was Danzo that suggested it. My guess is that he's going to be having his cronies looking for you. You better be watching your back. I'm afraid I won't be able to meet up with you again for a while. There are a lot of things I need to take care of in the village._

 _I shouldn't have to tell you, but be careful. I've known Danzo a long time, and he has spies everywhere. You can't trust anyone you meet anymore. Stay away from villages for the time being, take the back roads and get out of Fire Country if you can, that's if you haven't already._

 _I wish you all the best Hoshiko. Stay safe, and remember what we talked about. Never give up. Only the weak choose to give up, the strong fight to live on._

 _Jiraiya._

Hoshiko dropped the letter into her lap. She forced her bottom lip to stop quivering. It wasn't because she was sad that she was getting emotional. It was the fact that it had been so long since someone had looked out for her. Had expressed concern for her wellbeing. The frog croaked to her left once again, jolting her out of her stupor. Hoshiko glared down at the little beast.

"I'm not replying. Its for the best." The frog continued to stare for a few more moments before its croaked again. It suddenly jumped up onto the top of Hoshiko's head as she yelped and tried to brush it off. Before she could even reach the frog it had disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hoshiko grumbled and ran her fingers through her slimy hair. "Urgh, if I ever see a frog again I'm going to be sick."

* * *

It took her two weeks to finally reach Stone Country. The travel had been long and rocky, no pun intended. Hoshiko had never actually travelled the to Land of Earth before, so the terrain had come as a shock to her. Instead of rolling hills and abundant forests, Hoshiko was greeted with steep mountain paths and humid weather. Not a patch of green was seen within the Stone Country, and Hoshiko hated it. To be fair she should love it, considering her clan actually originated from Stone.

It had been a while since Hoshiko had thought about her Ginyoru clan. They had been recruited during the Third Shinobi war by Iwagakure to infiltrate and assassinate Konoha Shinobi. Hoshiko had only been three at the time of this happening so she really had no memories of her early childhood. All she has been able to remember is fire, a lot of fire and then having to walk for days and being extremely exhausted. Anyway—her father had pleaded with Konoha Shinobi to spare her and her mother's life. Her father had refused to take part in the war and thankfully they were the last three to not be slaughtered. Technically there was only two. Hoshiko's mother had married into the clan so she didn't actually posses the Mizukiri ability. Then Hoshiko's father had died and that meant she was the last one alive. But to the world, the Ginyoru clan had finally become extinct, just like the Uchiha clan had almost become.

Once the weather had become to hot and humid for her to bear, Hoshiko had ditched her long black cloak. She stuffed it into her bag, exposing her sleeveless black top and three quarter black pants and ankle sandals. She swept her long hair up into a ponytail, allowing the back of her neck some much needed air.

Hoshiko trekked it up to the top of a steep mountain. It wasn't the tallest in the ranges by far, but she wanted to stand somewhere high to get a scope of the land. She had a rough idea about where Iwagakure would be, but she didn't really want to head to the heart of the land if Danzo had spies waiting for her in all the major cities. No, she needed to head to the smaller villages first for what she wanted to do.

At the top of the mountain Hoshiko had to crawl the last few paces until she was able to stand up tall and scan the horizon. What she saw had her catching her breath in surprise. As far as the eye could see it was mountainous ranges. They stretched from one side of her peripheral vision to the other side, and even further after that. It was amazing. She had never seen anything like it before. Even though it was still hot up on the mountain, there was a strong breeze that kept her cool for a while.

Hoshiko loved watching the world from high places; she had done the same thing for years atop the Hokage monument. This place sort of reminded her of that too.

She stayed there for a few more minutes, just taking in the view. Until she knew that she needed to make a move on, unless she wanted to be camping for the sixteenth day in a row. She finally set to work on trying to find any indication of a small village around where she was. A smirk grew on her face when she spotted some plumes of smoke rising into the sky west of her position. If it wasn't a village it could be travellers or natives to the land who could point her in the right direction of a village. And so she started her descent back down the mountain.

It took her less time to reach the bottom of the mountain then it did for her to go up it. After she got her bearings she headed off in the direction that she saw the smoke coming from. If she had to guess, it might take her around an hour to find whatever it was that she had seen.

* * *

And she had been correct, and very lucky. After an hour of walking Hoshiko finally came across a small village. From the looks of it, it only seemed to hold around ten houses or so. Seven of them were residential. The other three were broken down into a teahouse, a market shop and a butcher. Even in the village the terrain was barren and dusty. The handful of people who wandered around the village looked tough and their skin looked weathered from the dry humid heat. It was hard to believe that once upon a time, Hoshiko's family had once lived like this.

The houses were made of stone (of course) and mud. Each house had a flat sheet of rock for the roof. It was a strange comparison to what she was used to seeing in Konoha and the other villages. The village was situated in a cluster of mountains, and it looked like some of the houses even extended into the rocks.

She could feel the eyes on her as she entered the village. They probably didn't see many travellers around these parts. Most would've stuck to the main road through the country and headed straight for Iwagakure. Hoshiko wouldn't be surprised if these people started chasing her out of their home with pitchforks.

When no pitchforks appeared in her vision, Hoshiko made her way to the teahouse. It was a painful reminder of Hanabira, but she pushed the memories away as she entered the room. She groaned under her breath, it was just as hot in the teahouse as it was outside. She had been hoping for some relief, but at least it wasn't as humid. Hoshiko spotted a man behind the counter and she walked straight up to him. The man was middle aged, bulky and dark skinned. He greeted her with a nod. Hoshiko leant on the counter.

"I'm looking for the Akatsuki, I want to join them."

* * *

 **Major apologies to all of you for having you wait this long for a new chapter. But what did you think! I know heaps of you wanted it to be Itachi that had snatched her away for an almighty reunion but no! It was Kakashi! Hoshiko and Itachi's reunion is coming soon, I promise. One or two chapters away, depending on how much I write before that! And what's this? Hoshiko want's to join the Akatsuki? Tell me you saw this coming xD But what are her plans?**

 **We'll actually be going into more of her clan history in a while so I just added that little refresher in there. Also, because of my lateness I gave you all a little Itachi treat! I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy writing Kisame xD**

 **But yeah, sorry for the lateness this chapter just didn't want to be written for a long long time but I hope you enjoyed it! See you all next time!**

Guest (Kris) - Man if it had been Tobi that had gotten her that would've been amazing, but no haha just lil old Kakashi, my fave. Poor bloke, now he's got to keep this secret...or will he? dun dun duuuuuun

bluerimartian - Danzo is damaged BEYOND repair. the guy is a grade A Jackass. I think i've said i before but I can't wait to kill him off. THERE WAS ANOTHER KAKASHI REUNION IM SORRY. Itachi is coming soon!

Doodles - I'm sorry this one took me even longer to get out then the last one! My life has been prety hectic but it's settling down now thank god so hopefully i'll have more time tto write from now on!

AugustRush - Thank you! Sorry its so late!

machiaveIIian - yeah she is lol

greymoonhuntress - Thanks, the letters had been something random that had popped into my head when i thought about how to start the chapter lol! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I seem to love the relationship between Jiraiya and Hoshiko more then i thought i would fuck. A lot of people thought Itachi and obviously i understand why but nope, not yet. He'll have his magic moment to swoop in and save our heroine...or not, he is in his jackass mood right now.

prismrootstarlight - Thank you! I love her realtionships with them too, more then I thought i would hahaha

Deise A.C - Oh wow thank you! Honestly I feel really bad that i've had to make everyone wait but thank you so much for the compliment!

ElisforLacey - Aw thank you! Good job on binge reading it, I know it's not a short story and we're probably not even half way yet...oh lord what have i done hahaah

Amy - Ahhhh i know im horrible for making you all wait. This story was always in the back of my mind but I just couldnt sit down and write for the longest time! Literally it has taken me like almost three weeks to write this chapter!

edrch - Thank you! Yes she is strong but she does have her weak points, and we'll be exploring more on them once Itachi comes back into the picture (fyi that's very soon!) The Sasuke reunion won't happen for a while but he may find out about her, we'll never know...well I do...anyway-toodleoo!

 **Again so sorry for the lateness but thank you everyone for sticking with me and reviewing and evrything. you guys are amazing and I can't wait to ride out this story with you all 3**


	26. First Encounter

_First Encounter_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

 **Warning: Quite a bit of profanity in this chapter. ye be warned.**

"I'm looking for the Akatsuki, I want to join them," Hoshiko stared the man dead in the eye. He didn't flinch when she used the name of the organization, which was a start.

"Don't know where they are," the man stated. He reached for a few cups and dried them with his towel, turned and placed them back on the shelves. "Those type of people aren't welcome around here. Best you keep moving on, little girl."

Hoshiko's eyes narrowed dangerously. Oh, he did not just—what a turd! Men can be so patronizing sometimes. And just because she was tiny for her age and may still look like a young teenager did not mean that she wasn't deadly.

Hoshiko reached into her pocket, and yanked out the small silver ring with ruby backing. The dark skinned man's eyes flicked to it. For the untrained, it was like he had just glanced at it. But for a trained ANBU like Hoshiko, she saw the twitch of his eyebrow, the flick at the corner of his mouth. Oh yes, this man definitely knew what that ring was. It confirmed her suspicions after all.

"See this ring? I killed an Akatsuki member for it. It's what you call their 'right of passage'. I'm worthy to be apart of their organization." Hoshiko dropped the ring into the palm of her hand. The bartender's eyes watched it intently. Hoshiko saw a bead of sweat roll down his neck. "Unfortunately for me. I killed him before he could gurgle out the location of their nearest hideout. Drowned in his own blood. Tragic really." The bartender swallowed loudly. His eyes flicking from hers to the weapons pouch secured to her waist. Hoshiko sighed and leant on the counter again, this time she moved closer to the man.

"You and I both know that the Akatsuki operate out of Stone. I can tell you about the numerous reports that I've read over the years which state this fact." That part was true. During her four years of travel, she had come across rumors that stated this. But, the man didn't need to know that these were rumors…

He still remained tightlipped about the subject. Hoshiko's patience was wearing thin; she knew that this man knew where to find Akatsuki. Maybe he was scared that if he gave them up, they might come looking for him. It was plausible. The Akatsuki weren't really ones to fuck around with.

"Here's my final offer," Hoshiko said, lowering her voice dangerously and death staring the man. She was surprised he hadn't wet himself from her look. "You tell me where I can find them, and I won't mention who I got the information off. Or I burn this shitpile of a village to the ground. I already murdered one Akatsuki member, a village will be like burning a tissue."

The man blanched. His eyes darted around the shop, landing on his few patrons. They snapped back to Hoshiko as she waited patiently, a sickly sweet smile on her face. "Please…don't harm anyone—we've done nothing wrong," his whispered to her under his breath.

"Tell. Me," Hoshiko ordered, clenching her fists on the counter.

He glanced around again. "You won't find them here." Hoshiko sighed in annoyance. The man interpreted it wrong, thinking that she was about to take out her anger on him as he stuttered and held his hands up. "B-But I have heard rumors!"

Hoshiko rolled her wrist at the man. "I'm listening."

"A man came through here once. He spoke about how there's a building in his village, and he always see's the same two members of the Akatsuki come and go from there. No one knows what they do, and it's probably once every three weeks, but they always come back. That's all I know—I swear."

Hoshiko's interest was peaked. What could be so important those Akatsuki members kept on going back to a building. Maybe it was their hideout? No, it couldn't be. He just said it was the same two men. Hoshiko was sure that she had read in one of her Bingo books that the Akatsuki had at least seven or eight members. Well, the information was better then nothing.

"Where's the village?" Hoshiko asked. The man looked like he was tearing apart his own brain trying to remember the name of the village.

"Hōkai iwa, it's near Iwagakure, probably a day's walk from here. The road that leads of out this village will take you to it. There are signposts along the way. When you reach the fork in the road, take the right path."

"Did the man say what building?" Hoshiko asked him.

The bartender shook his head vigorously. "N-No, he did mention that it was the second shop on the right from the west entrance though. I don't know what it could be?"

"You made the right decision," Hoshiko said with a wink to the man. The dark skinned man didn't seem to believe so. He looked like he wanted run away from Hoshiko right now. He was probably nervous that she was about to go back on her word burn his whole village to the ground. It was something that the Akatsuki would likely do to someone.

 **X**

Like the man had said, it had taken her a day to reach the village called Hōkai iwa. The trek to the village had been one for the record. The path had taken her over a mountain and even through them. She had passed quite a few travellers and guessed that the path must be a main one that went through the country.

Upon entering the village from the west entrance, Hoshiko sought out the second building on the right hand side. When she found it, she halted dead in her tracks and pulled a grimace.

"What…the hell?"

The sign above the door read that it was a bath and teahouse. Hoshiko stepped back and made sure that she had counted right. Even if it was only two…

Apparently it wasn't a mistake, she was at the right place. So apparently the Akatsuki like to keep themselves clean and fed well. Who'd a thunk? And here she was thinking Akatsuki members were dirty criminals who never washed. Mind you, Itachi the betrayer was in Akatsuki, and he had been the most perfect neat freak she'd ever met. She didn't want to think about Itachi right now. The prick didn't deserve that from her. If she did end up seeing him, she punch him right in the nose for everything that he's done. Or kill him. Whatever one came first.

Hoshiko entered the shop. In front of her was a desk with a middle-aged woman behind the counter. Hoshiko saw that over to the right was the teashop part of it. On the left, it branched off into the bathhouse.

"Welcome, what brings you here today?" The woman asked her kindly. Her hair was dark, her skin tanned but not dark like the other mans from the previous village. She wore a pair of glasses that kept sliding down her nose. Every couple of seconds the woman would push them up again. Hoshiko had only been here twenty seconds and she wanted to glue the pair of spectacles to her nose.

Hoshiko shook her head from the mental image of pinning the woman down and thought about her predicament carefully. It seemed that even though people were aware of the Akatsuki roaming around the country, they didn't like to admit it. They were kind of like the black market. Hoshiko couldn't expose herself, no one could know that she was waiting for them, if someone found out, they might get a message to them and they'd never come around. No, it was best if she waited it out. Hopefully it wouldn't be another three weeks before they came by.

Hoshiko looked over to the teashop side of the room. "Just a table, please." The woman gave her smile and rose from the desk. Hoshiko followed her to a small table in the middle of the room that she sat down at. The woman bowed politely to her and retreated back behind the desk.

A waiter soon came over and Hoshiko ordered a pot of green tea. While she waited Hoshiko took the time to observe her surroundings. The shop was homely, small but didn't feel too cramped. If Hoshiko was here longer than a few days she said to herself that she'd totally use the hot springs on the other side. It'd be a waste not to.

Hoshiko spent the entire day there and there was no sign of the Akatsuki. She couldn't feel too annoyed. Her luck wasn't that great. It had been an absolute bore to sit there for the entire day, she had watched patrons come and go and before long the lady at the reception desk and come around and told her that they were closing up shop for the day.

When Hoshiko emerged from the shop, the sun had already set and small gas lamps lit the narrow street. Hoshiko swore in her head, maybe she should have looked for an inn to stay in first before she went into the teashop. There were a few people out at this time, Hoshiko approached the first person she saw and asked where the nearest Inn was. They pointed her in the right direction as she thanked them and headed on her way.

* * *

Hoshiko dumped her bag on the floor by her bed and flopped down on it. It felt good to finally be sleeping on a comfortable bed once again. She had used the money that she had collected over the years from doing mercenary work to pay for the room. She only ever used the money for these types of things. The room was small and bare; a small picture hung on the opposite wall as some form of décor. The walls were of course, made of stone and so was the floor. Really, she didn't expect much else. The window was small too and it opened to the outside. She didn't have a washroom but the man at the desk had told her where to find it should she desire to use it.

Hoshiko was suddenly overcome with tiredness as she rustled through her bag to find some clean nightclothes to wear as she changed quickly and slid under the covers. Not before slipping one of her kunai under the pillow with her.

 **X**

A whole week went by with Hoshiko staying in Hōkai Iwa. It was safe to say she had become a regular at the teashop. Every morning she went there to bath in the hot springs and then she would emerge a few hours later to have a pot of green tea. All the while she was waiting to see those distinctive black and red cloaks. She would leave in the mid afternoon time and stake out the teashop from a vantage point. For seven days she did this.

And on the eighth day, Hoshiko finally ran into some luck.

It was late afternoon; the sun wasn't setting for another four hours. Hoshiko had sat herself on top of the roof across from the teashop. She was lying down on her back, soaking up the warm sunrays on her exposed skin from her sleeveless shirt. Her kunai was in her hand as she absentmindedly picked out dirt from under her fingernails with it. That was until she suddenly sensed two pretty powerful chakra signatures approaching the village.

Her reaction was instantaneous; she sheathed her kunai in her hidden weapons pouch. She hadn't been wearing it openly as to not attract attention. She then jumped down the backside of the building so that no one would see her and hurried around to the front and to the shop. The two people were still a few minutes away from the village so it gave her enough time to get settled and ready. She headed into the shop and saw the lady that was there everyday look a little startled at seeing her.

"Back so soon?" she was inquiring but was happy to see her.

"Couldn't get enough of the green tea," Hoshiko said with a smile. "Table?"

The lady complied and brought Hoshiko into the tearoom, she was about to give her the normal table in the middle but Hoshiko grabbed her arm. "Oh, can I have this one?" Hoshiko pointed to the table that was in the corner but had a view of the door.

"Of course, shall I order the usual?"

"Yes please," Hoshiko said. Her attention focused on the door. The woman called out to the waiter as she returned to her desk. Hoshiko tried not to look anxious as she calmed down her heart and began to slowly mask her chakra a little more; she didn't want anything to tip off the Akatsuki members that she was nothing more than a patron.

She could feel them approaching and was relieved. For a while there, she had been worried that the information that the man back in that small village had given her false information just to get her out of there. But no, he was right.

The waiter came with her tea as Hoshiko thanked him and quickly poured a cup. She brought it up to her lips just as two people entered the shop. One was remarkably tall, freakishly tall even. From her seat she swore that he had weird green eyes. She couldn't see much of his face as it was covered up with a material that went around his neck and mouth. He even had a grey bandana covering his head; the dark and intimidating black cloak covered the rest of his body.

The other man, slightly shorter but still tall didn't have anything covering his face. His hair was silvery, slicked back with either grease or water. Hoshiko couldn't make out the colour of his eyes. The thing that stood out most to her was the large, triple bladed scythe strapped to his back. Well, if they wanted to be inconspicuous, they were going about it the wrong way.

They approached the desk and the woman jumped up as if she had been zapped, she bowed respectfully. "You're early this time, Kakuzu-san, Hidan-san."

The one with the covered up face lifted up a case that he had been holding. "I have my bounty, where is he?"

"He's in the back, come right through please," the woman bowed once more and began walking passed Hoshiko and into the kitchen. The two men followed.

"This better not take too fucking long, Kakuzu," the one with silver hair—Hidan, said.

The one named Kakuzu didn't turn to face his companion. "You got your kill, Hidan. Now it's my turn, stop complaining."

"Tch. Whatever," Hidan rolled his eyes. Hoshiko watched them pass her by discreetly. The teacup never left her lips as she followed them with her eyes. They walked passed the waiter who looked like he was about to wet himself from their presence as they disappeared into the kitchen. It was around two minutes later when the woman returned and looked insanely relieved to be out of there. She returned to her desk and began acting like everything was normal once again.

Hoshiko quickly downed the rest of her tea, she left the correct amount of money on the table for the waiter to collect as she hurried out of the teashop. Once out in the street she quickly hid around the corner and waited for the two Akatsuki members to come out again.

She waited around ten more minutes before they emerged together, the one with silver hair arguing with his companion about how bored he was. Kakuzu didn't reply to him as the two began to leave the village the way they had come. Hoshiko knew that this was her chance; she masked her chakra and began to follow them into the forest.

* * *

The two kept the path, a steady walk. Hoshiko wondered why they were so laid back? They were two S-class missing Nin's out in the open. They would probably be in all of the bingo books across the world. Were all the Akatsuki members all like this? Then again, they were some of the most powerful Shinobi in the world, what would they have to be scared about.

Hoshiko leapt to the next tree, keeping her tail on the two men. She crouched low, one hand against the thick trunk as her silver eyes watched sharply. Hoshiko was about to leap to the next tree when all of a sudden Hidan, the one with the triple bladed scythe spun around, launching his weapon up at her in the tree.

"Found you, bastard!"

Hoshiko's eyes widened as she dove out of the tree just in the nick of time, the scythe imbedded into the branch where she had been standing just milliseconds before. As she fell through the air, she brandished a kunai and threw it at Hidan's head. Hoshiko hadn't expected his weapon to be long range, but in those few seconds, she had seen a long cable attached to the scythe. The cable reached Hidan's hand. It was a disadvantage to him, as Hoshiko did most of her work close range, and with such a bulky weapon it would be hard for him to dodge her quick attacks.

Hidan pulled the cable up to block the kunai that Hoshiko had thrown at him as she landed on the ground a few meters away from the two. Her eyes flicked between the two. Kakuzu didn't seem interested in her; he stood a meter back from Hidan, assessing the situation but didn't have his guard up. Was he not going to fight her too?

"What's a tiny bitch like you doing following us, eh?" Hidan bellowed at her. Hoshiko turned her eyes back to him.

"I wanted to talk," she said simply.

Hidan laughed. He tugged on his cable; Hoshiko heard the unmistakable sound of his weapon swooshing right for her. She felt the wind shift behind her as she leapt, torso twisting in the air and landed on her feet as Hidan caught his weapon in his hand.

"Ain't got no time for talking! If you want to fight, I can give you that," Hidan licked his lips excitedly as Hoshiko shook her head.

"I don't want to fight, I want to join you."

Hidan pulled a face and looked over his shoulder at his companion, "Oi, Kakuzu, you deal with the mouthy bitch." Hoshiko looked to Kakuzu as the green-eyed man narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

"We've no time for this. Our next bounty is over in Cloud; it'll take us weeks to get there already. Kill her, Hidan."

Hidan swung his head around, a grin on his face. "My pleasure. I'll take great pride in tearing up that little body of yours, bitch."

Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. Hidan saw this and grew excited, he screamed with glee and swung his scythe towards her. Hoshiko made no move to dodge as the scythe impaled her body—and then went right through a puff of smoke.

"EH? What the fuck?"

Kakuzu didn't flinch when he felt the tip of a kunai poised at his back, right over one of his five hearts. Hoshiko stood there with a smirk as Kakuzu turned his head to look over his shoulder.

"I'm listening," Kakuzu muttered. Hoshiko removed the kunai and took a step back as Hidan finally realized that she had been behind them the whole time. He started shouting profanities at her but both Hoshiko and Kakuzu tuned them out.

Hoshiko sheathed her kunai back in her weapons pouch. "I told you, I don't want to fight. I just want to talk."

"You're wasting my time, brat," Kakuzu growled. Hoshiko narrowed her eyes at him.

"You underestimated me the first time. I could have just pierced your heart and thought nothing of it. You would do well to not underestimate me again. Now," Hoshiko went into her pocket and pulled out the ring, "I believe you recognize this."

Kakuzu's eyes went to it but he gave nothing away until he spoke.

"Orochimaru's ring."

"Yes," Hoshiko nodded. "I stole it from him. Thought it was a piece of junk but then I realized I had seen them before in the bingo books."

Kakuzu seemed to look her up and down. "What village do you come from, you wear no Hitai-ate."

Hoshiko paused for a moment. "Konoha, but I defected four years ago. That's not the point. The point is—I know that Orochimaru used to be one of you, and the bastard has been hunting me for years. I know the locations of many of his bases around the world." There was a slight quirk of Kakuzu's eyebrow. He finally seemed intrigued. "Now I'm no criminal mastermind," her eyes flicked to Hidan, "Or a raging lunatic but I'm pretty sure that he didn't leave on good terms, am I right?"

Kakuzu remained silent. Hidan was behind him, muttering about how he so _desperately_ wanted to kill her. If his silence was anything to go by, Hoshiko knew she was right.

"And I know for a fact that he tried to kill one of your members—"

"BAH!" Hidan exclaimed loudly. "That stuck up Uchiha son of a bitch had it coming!" Hoshiko didn't react to his words.

"If you want the information that I have on him, I want to speak to your leader. I'll tell him and no one else."

"Kakuzu," Hidan whined loudly, "Let's just kill her and be done with it."

"Are you always this annoying?" Hoshiko rounded on him with a glare. Hidan fixated his gaze on her as he bared his teeth at her.

"Fight me and we'll see."

"Hidan," Kakuzu said sternly. The man in command turned to stare at Hidan for a moment before looking at Hoshiko. "We're leaving, this girl is of no use to us."

"What?" Both Hoshiko and Hidan exclaimed in unison.

"I will not trouble our leader with trivial nonsense like this. Come, Hidan, we've already wasted enough time."

"Not even a little scratch?" Hidan grumbled. One look from Kakuzu had him mumbling profanities once again under his breath and shuffling off. As he passed Hoshiko he leered at her. "You got lucky, bitch. If I see you again, you're mine."

Hoshiko returned his glower with one of her own. "Try me, you won't be able to land a mark on my face."

Hidan made a move to lunge at her, he growled at her but Kakuzu barked his name forcefully and the silver haired man followed after. Hoshiko watched them go, she could've tried to fight them and make her point, but she was stupid. She wouldn't have been able to take them both on by herself. No, she would wait again. In three weeks when they returned, she would confront them again. And if it didn't work again, she keep on going, or she'd follow them until they finally caved in. She knew how to be annoying, and by god she could do it well.

* * *

Hoshiko returned to the inn and collected her things, there was no point in her staying around any longer. She had found the Akatsuki had they had rejected her. For some reason, she had thought that a bunch of criminals would've welcomed another in their ranks. Not be picky assholes with tempers that could rival her own.

Before leaving town she headed to one of the few convenience stores and bought a few packet meals that she could eat on the road, she didn't expect to be staying in a village for another couple of weeks.

Realistically she could have followed Hidan and Kakuzu, but Hidan had already seen through her masked chakra, he would be able to do it again. And as she thought before, if it came down to it, she wouldn't be so lucky if they crossed paths.

She headed out into the forest, her destination unknown. She was just walking. She had remembered to buy a map while in Hōkai Iwa; it had the layout of the whole country. If she continued west, she would hit the hidden village. She wouldn't enter the village, but maybe she could find a few jobs around the outlying villages until she returned back to confront Hidan and Kakuzu once more. Again, she was anything if not persistent.

She made camp a few hours into her walk. She spent time setting up her perimeter traps and then rolling out her small futon. She collected firewood and created a small fire in the center and then performed a small fire jutsu to get it going. She sat back on her futon and stared into the flames. They danced in the encroaching darkness, casting twisting shadows over the lumps of rock and dirt. It was the one thing Hoshiko hated, dirt—mud. It was gross and stuck to your skin. When it dried it became itchy and you'd have to scrub your skin raw just to get it all off.

Now grass, that was heaven. It was lovely to lie on, it could be itchy sometimes but if you were lying on a futon you wouldn't be able to tell. And when the wind blew the grass, the sound always managed to soothe her to sleep. It always sounded like water, like a soft waterfall, or rain.

Here, the dirt was everywhere. Hoshiko didn't know how she would've managed to live in Stone country with her clan had they not partaken in the war. Would she have still disliked mud and dirt? Or would she have embraced it?

Then that got her thinking onto how her life might have turned out had she never left. Well for one, none of this would've happened to her, that's for damn sure. Her father would still be alive; she wouldn't be on the run, trying to convince a criminally insane organization to let her join. She wouldn't have had to separate from her mother, and she never would have become a Shinobi. She could have lived a peaceful and blissful life with her family and her clan. She also would've never met Itachi. That would've been a bonus.

But then she never would have met Shisui, or Sasuke or Kakashi. Or even Jiraiya for that matter. Would it have been better? She wondered. Her thoughts kept on repeating the 'if's' and 'but's' of her life. It probably wasn't healthy to dwell on things that she couldn't change, but well—she had done a lot of things in her life that wasn't healthy. Why was she going to start now? She had approached two Akatsuki members' head on and lived to tell the tale. To her, her luck was improving.

It could only go up from now.

A blur of red came zooming out from the trees in front of her. Hoshiko fell to the side, not before feeling a slight sting to her cheek. She had dodged the brunt of the weapon, but had still got hit. She felt the trickle of blood run down her cheek as she looked over her shoulder.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she spotted Hidan's scythe. Oh great, he had come back to finish the job. Hoshiko saw the tug of the cable as the scythe jerked out of the ground and zoomed back into the forest. Hoshiko had to duck once more to avoid getting hit again. As she looked back, Hidan and Kakuzu both emerged from the darkness.

Hoshiko glared at them both, they had managed to get passed her traps undetected. She rose to her feet, instantly on her guard. If they were here to finish the job, she most certainly wasn't going to make it easy for them.

Hidan swung his scythe onto his shoulder, making it look like the weapon only weighed a few pounds. Hoshiko saw one of the spikes thinly coated in her blood. "Told you I'd get you next time, bitch. You're just a lucky pile of shit right now."

"The hell you talking about?" Hoshiko barked out, her gaze flicking between the two crazed lunatics. Kakuzu stepped towards her; Hoshiko noticed he had something in his hand. With a flick of the tall mans wrist he threw the paper at her. Hoshiko caught it between two fingers.

"That is you, is it not, Ginyoru Hoshiko?"

Hoshiko's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she gazed down at the paper in her hand. Her mouth parted in a small gasp of surprise as she looked down at one of her old ANBU photos. It was definitely her; it was the photo that they had on record in Konoha. Hoshiko couldn't fathom how Kakuzu got his hands on this. She looked so little in the photo, only fourteen at the time.

She met Kakuzu's green orbs. "And what if it is?"

"Then my leader will be most pleased to meet with you. If you decline, you have a pretty big bounty on your head—considering the world thinks you're dead."

"And I'll be doing the honors!" Hidan called excitedly.

Hoshiko quirked an eyebrow at the men. "So you're only taking me seriously now because you figured out my name, typical," she muttered stubbornly, "So if I had just said who I was from the beginning, all of this could have been avoided?"

"Most likely," Kakuzu agreed shortly.

Hoshiko smacked her hands together. "Well then, take me to your leader!" The humor was lost on the two men as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at them. Tough crowd.

"Hidan," Kakuzu motioned his head towards her. "Try not to kill her."

Hidan stalked towards her. "You like pain, bitch?" Hoshiko took one step back.

"You mean in the hair pulling kind, or the 'oh dear I've been impaled'?"

"Any pain is good pain," Hidan grinned. He swung his scythe around so that the hilt was facing up and the blades were near the floor. Hoshiko saw where this was going.

"Oh, I see. Knocking me out so I can't figure out where your hideout is. Typical criminal work."

"Hidan, hurry up. Her running mouth is costing us time," Kakuzu called out as he turned on his heel and started marching away.

Hidan raised his weapon as Hoshiko shrunk back and held up her hands. "Wait! Just not the face, it's my only good asset!"

Hidan gritted his teeth at her. "I wish I could fucking kill you."

Hoshiko grinned cheekily. "Get in line, there's been a shit-ton of people trying to do that for years." Hoshiko could've sworn that there was a bemused glint behind Hidan's eye. But maybe that was just the mix of blinding pain she felt when Hidan cracked his weapon round the back of her head. She had remained conscious for a few more seconds, slurred some sort of profanity and then face planted the ground.

* * *

 **OK well i think i've found my favourite new character to write! Holy shit i had so much fun writing Hidan in this. I do really hope I have portrayed them as close to canon as i can in this chapter. I mean, we really didn't get much screen time with them to actually know them as well as some of the others but I tried my best. I was actually going to drag out Hoshiko not getting to go with them for another chapter but i thought nahh cause guess what.**

 **ITACHI REUNION NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **akjbhdfjkahfgud im excited to write this! Their reunion has been something that first sparked this story and honestly I can't wait. Also little bit of self promoting here. I recently started up and Attack on Titan story, it's only three chapters so far as i stopped to write chapters for this one and my bleach one. But if you're a fan of AOT like me and love some Levi/oc stuff go give it some love please! You dont have to, I'm not being pushy!**

 **Anywhoo thanks so much guys and see you next time!**

 **REPLIES**

DoctorBoo24 - Aww thanks! Hope you enjoyed this one!

AugustRush - Thank you! Hope this one was good too!

Warga - Wasn't super quick but not as long as last time! At least this one wasnt as bloody depressing!

GreyMoonHuntress - Yeah her mum really got the short end of the stick, but fear not, she is not forgotten within this story. Hahah ikr, no one guessed it wouldve been kakashi to come and get her xD i was like oh fuck i hope no ones gonna get pissed at me xD Itachi is coming soon, Ive missed his crazy ass.

toibin - Aw thank you! That's ok! At least you're here now! Hope you enjoyed :)

Guest - Oh thank you! Means a lot to me :)

DuangKitty - Kudos for power reading! Sorry for dragging you behind on your studies! Dont become tardy and forget them, school is important! He's returning next chapter FINALLY! It's been a long time coming for this!


	27. Red and Silver

_Red and Silver_

 **Onyx and Ivory**

* * *

"Oi, bitch. Time to wake up," Hidan used his foot to rock Hoshiko's body harshly. The girl's head rolled to the side as she muttered and her eyes began to flutter. The first thing that she felt was the splitting headache. It caused a wave of nausea to roll over her as she groaned.

"Did you have to hit me so hard?" Hoshiko groaned. One hand went to her mouth, covering it in case she suddenly vomited. She suddenly remembered what had happened to her. She had made a deal with Akatsuki; she was meeting with their leader. Hoshiko's guard went up as she jumped to her feet. She ignored the nausea again and the pounding behind her eyes as she looked from Hidan to Kakuzu who was standing a few feet away by a nearby tree.

"Relax, if I were going to kill you, you wouldn't have woken up," Hidan drawled to her, looking disappointed that he still hadn't killed her.

"We must keep moving," Kakuzu stated, turning on his heel and marching off.

Hoshiko rubbed her tender head. "What the hell crawled up his ass and died?" Hoshiko didn't receive a reply as she heard Hidan move up behind her. She felt a rough shove to her back.

"Keep moving, bitch."

Hoshiko turned her head to glare at him. "I thought I wasn't allowed to see where your hideout is, why wake me up?"

"You became too damn heavy," Hidan snapped at her.

Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, _sorry_. If I would've known I would've dropped some of my organs off." Hidan smirked down at her.

"Don't tell him that," he jerked his head to Kakuzu who was a few meters in front. "He'll see that as an invitation. Apparently you're worth some damn money, at least according to that bastard." Hoshiko didn't want Hidan to elaborate on what he meant, so she shut her mouth and followed after the creepy tall man.

They walked for a few more minutes before they came to the outer walls of a village. Hoshiko stared up at the wall in confusion. Before she could ask what they were doing, Kakuzu reached out and pushed on the wooden perimeter fence. The fence swung open as the three shuffled into the village. They were then facing the back of a shop. The building was made of stone, and unlike the buildings in Hōkai Iwa, these buildings had thatched roofs. Kakuzu approached the door at the back of the building and raised his hand to knock against the wood.

It was a few moments later when the door opened wide and a man stepped aside to let them in. The man was tall and scrawny with a dark beard and narrow eyes. "Afternoon, Kakuzu-san," he bowed respectfully as Kakuzu didn't reply and stepped into the building. Hidan shoved Hoshiko once more as the girl leered at the silver haired man but followed Kakuzu in.

The room was dark and damp smelling. Hoshiko had already begun to sweat through her clothes as she followed Kakuzu. They turned a narrow corner and Hoshiko was able to see what type of building they were in.

"Really? Another bathhouse?" She muttered in disbelief. Sure enough, through the gap she could see a steaming pool of water. No one was currently in it, and there was a section of to the side that was blocked off with a changing wall. To her, it looked like a private hot spring.

Hoshiko was led to what seemed like a dead end, until Kakuzu reached down to the floor and pulled on a little lever. A door swung up before her, steps leading down and torches hung along the wall. She willingly followed him down there.

The stairs were long, probably because they had to go under the hot springs. When they hit solid floor, or rather wood flooring the space opened up to some winding corridors with other doors. Small lights hung on he walls, Hoshiko tried to think how they could possibly get electricity down here but didn't dwell on it too much as they continued on walking.

 **X**

Considering they were underground and under hot springs, it didn't feel cramped or dingy. The ceiling was high and the walls were undeniably stone but the wooden flooring made it feel like they weren't even underground. Kakuzu walked until he came to a door on the left.

"Wait in here until we retrieve you. Do not go anywhere else," he ordered. Hoshiko could hear the underlying threat in his voice. _Don't go anywhere else or I'll kill you_ , that's pretty much what he wanted to say.

She nodded and opened the door. She walked into a room. Hoshiko glanced over her shoulder to see Hidan sniggering, jesting her to go for a wonder just so that he had an excuse to finally kill her. Using her foot, Hoshiko kicked the door shut as sighed at the man's antics. She needed to watch her back with that one.

Taking a glance around the room, it had a single bed pushed up against one wall, a desk against the other—and that was pretty much it. There was a chest at the foot of the bed for what she assumed to be storage but there was no décor, just a hanging lamp from the ceiling with a switch on the wall.

"Cozy…" she mumbled to herself. Hoshiko rubbed her head again, the ache had dulled somewhat, but it was still there. The nausea had faded but any sudden movements might have it returning. She shuffled over to the desk and pulled out the chair, slumping down into it Hoshiko fished in her pant pockets to retrieve the little green book Kakashi had given her.

 _I hope I'm making the right decision_ , she thought to herself. If Kakashi could see her now, he probably smack her silly. She had promised him she would stay safe, she didn't think willingly seeking out the Akatsuki was keeping herself safe.

It was only a short time later that the door opened without so much as a warning. Hoshiko swung around on her chair to see Hidan looking less than pleased in the doorway. "Ah, so you're the errand boy again."

"Shut the hell up, bitch," Hidan spat. "Leader-sama is ready to talk with you."

"Then by all means, lead the way," Hoshiko made a sweeping gesture. Hidan gave her the finger as she chuckled. Hoshiko stood and followed after the tempestuous man. He led her down another set of corridors until they walked into a large open room. Stairs led down into the pit where she could make out Kakuzu standing with someone else. From her distance, the other person looked to be flickering? And a different contrast from Kakuzu—which was absolutely ridiculous, but that's what she was seeing.

She descended the stairs, and upon further inspection, the person standing with Kakuzu wasn't even real. He was a projection. Hoshiko had heard of this type of jutsu, it was powerful and required a lot of chakra to do. She studied the man that was apparently the leader of the powerful organization. His colours were muted; the only thing showing was the rainbow effect on the cloak that he wore. His hair appeared spikey, and he was shorter than Kakuzu. The thing that stood out the most were his vivid ringed purple eyes. They creepily followed her every move as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Ginyoru Hoshiko," his voice was distorted through the projection. "It is a surprise to be speaking with you. You have been reported dead for four years."

She smirked and crossed her arms. "Yeah, the people who tried to kill me thought that too." Again her humor was lost on them.

"Kakuzu explained that you have information on Orochimaru in exchange for…what exactly?"

"A place in your organization," Hoshiko said firmly.

"And what makes you think that the information you have is worthy enough to join our ranks?"

Hoshiko quirked her eyebrow, "Well, are any of you really worthy? I mean you're all S-class criminals." Pein remained silent at her words. Maybe it wasn't smart to piss of criminals. "Look, I've got nowhere else to go. I tried to kill Danzo of Konoha; he's got all of his cronies out looking for me. I hold no allegiance to any village and I've killed my own fair share of Shinobi over the years. It just so happens that I managed to piss of one of your old buddies enough for him to hunt me too. And by doing so I found most of his hideouts and his old Akatsuki ring. What you do with the information is on you."

"And if I take the information and not let you join?" Pein asked her.

Hoshiko shrugged her shoulders. "Then just kill me already. There's nothing really for me anymore. Danzo will more than likely find me and use all his force to eliminate me once and for all. And apparently I have a big bounty according to him," Hoshiko jerked her thumb in Kakuzu's direction. "Cash in on some money. At least my life would've meant something in the end." Hoshiko smirked. "And it'll shut this dumbfuck up," she added, grinned over her shoulder at Hidan.

The silver haired man bared his teeth at her. "You fucking bitch!"

"Enough, Hidan," Pein commanded. The raging man reeled himself back from strangling Hoshiko. Pein was silent for a few more moments. "Return her to the room. I will think on this." His projection flickered for a second before Pein blipped away.

Kakuzu was the one to escort Hoshiko back to her room. Really, she could have gone herself; it wasn't like she was really going to go anywhere. What she said was true, if they weren't going to accept her, Hidan was free to kill her. Hoshiko really didn't want to spend the rest of her life running. Hoshiko had asked Kakuzu how long she thought it would take for their leader to make a decision, he had replied with something along the lines of, 'too long' and left her to her own devices again. Now she was lounging on the small bed, her arms tucked behind her head and one leg crossed over the other.

* * *

It had been a few hours since she had spoken with Pein, and she was bored shitless. She even considered finding Hidan and pissing him off to pass the time, but then thought against it. She _even_ considered reading the Icha-Icha book, but then almost vomited when she flicked to a random page. She had thrown the book down quickly and had returned to her quiet brooding.

It was funny. Hoshiko was in the 'Lion's den' so to speak, but she didn't feel anxious or scared. Her fate was being decided by one of the most power Shinobi in the world right now, and she couldn't really be bothered about it. Most would quake in their shoes at the thought of crossing paths with the Akatsuki, but Hoshiko had waltzed right up to them and spoke with them head on.

What did that say about her? Was she brave? Or batshit crazy? Or was she just like them? That was a terrifying thought. Had she actually considered what she had asked of Pein? Could she become an Akatsuki member?

A knock on her door had her shaking her head from her thoughts and looking over to it as it opened. Kakuzu stood in the doorway. "Pein-sama has made his decision. Come."

Hoshiko obeyed. She rose from the bed and took a step towards him. She stopped, forgetting about her book on the desk. Hoshiko turned back to take it but then decided against it. If she died, she didn't want her blood soiling the pages. Kakuzu told her to keep up as Hoshiko trotted after him. He led her to the same room as before, leading her down the stairs where she could see the projection of Pein waiting for her. To her relief, Hidan wasn't around. Was that a good sign? He would've been her executioner no doubt about it.

Hoshiko stopped in front of Pein. "I have come to a decision," he said slowly, his purple eyes holding her gaze. "As Kakuzu pointed out, the bounty on your head would be a large sum, no doubt funding this organization a great deal. Be that as it may, I believe you would be more of an asset to us alive then dead." Hoshiko kept her face stoic. "As the last of your clan, you hold a great deal of abilities that would benefit us and would be a shame to waste. The information you hold on Orochimaru can also be of use to us."

"So we have a deal then?" Hoshiko enquired.

"Not necessarily," Pein countered. "While you are valuable, I cannot allow you to join our ranks as of yet. You must prove yourself capable and one of us." Hoshiko had to resist rolling her eyes at him. "You will be able to stay here, and in time go on missions that I deem fit for you. Only once we trust you shall you be welcomed as an official member."

From behind, Hoshiko heard the door open. She sensed three people entering the room. Her body froze.

"The information you have will go to the one who has been tasked with finding Orochimaru. Kakuzu, I trust you and the others shall keep her in line." Again, Hoshiko heard the underlying threat. Kakuzu nodded as Pein gave Hoshiko a final look and then flickered away into oblivion. She could hear the footsteps of the three approaching. Kakuzu turned his body to face the newcomers.

"Oi!" Hidan bellowed. "Midget bitch!"

Well, there was no denying just whom Hidan was trying to talk to.

"Didn't you say that you were from that shitpile Konoha?" Hoshiko kept her back to them. She could sense Hidan. She could also sense another. His chakra signature was powerful, very powerful…but that wasn't the one that drew her. "Well, shouldn't you two bastards know each other then?" Hidan continued.

Kakuzu had been watching Hoshiko. Her fists clenched tightly by her side. Her eyes narrowed into slits, her jaw twitched as she grit her teeth.

"The fucks wrong with her?" Hidan questioned. They were barely a meter away from her now.

It happened all too fast. Hoshiko had reached into her hidden weapons pouch, pulling out a kunai and holding it in her hand. She twisted on the ball of her foot, spinning and launching herself at her target. She had gone for the throat, but her kunai met metal. Sparks flew as silver met red for the first time in four years.

His face was the picture of calmness. His swirling red eyes emotionless as they stared one another down. Hoshiko's eyes had narrowed, her lips pulled back to expose her teeth as she growled like a feral beast. She exerted more force in her arm, her kunai sliding along Itachi's own one.

"I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say that they know each other," Kisame stated to the other two. For once, Hidan had nothing to say to that. Normally he would come up with some vulgar remark, but he was actually shocked by the look of pure malice on Hoshiko's face.

Time seemed to have stopped for Hoshiko. All she could focus on was the fact that the man in front of her was the cause of all her pain. If he had never existed, then none of this would've happened. She had dreamt about this confrontation for years, never expecting it to actually happen—and yet here she was. Shisui…if it wasn't for Itachi…Shisui would still be…

Hoshiko had been so engrossed in her clash with Itachi that she missed Kakuzu stepping up behind her. It was only when she felt the tug on her shirt that she realized she had messed up. She had assumed that these men would be strong, but Kakuzu had literally just punted her across the room like she had been a wet paper towel. She hit the wall, a yelp leaving her lips as she slumped to the floor. The wall had caved in on where she had hit it.

Her vision blurred and she sat up, only to see Kakuzu appear before her, intending on striking her down once again. She readied her block but it was not needed. A hand gripped Kakuzu's cloaked arm, stopping him from striking Hoshiko.

"Now, now," Kisame said, holding on tightly. "That's being a bit brash, Kakuzu-san." Hoshiko watched the exchange with wide eyes. "I believe it should be Itachi-san who should deliver the punishment, don't you think?"

Hoshiko's eyes flicked to Itachi. The Uchiha met her gaze again before he blinked slowly. "Hn. Let her be."

His voice. It was the same, but different. His tone had deepened—most likely from him aging. But it still was the same monotonous voice that she remembered. Kakuzu shrugged his arm forcefully out of Kisame's hold as he turned on his heel.

"She is no longer my responsibility," he stated and left the room. Hidan's head was bouncing back and forth between Hoshiko and Itachi.

"What the fuck was that all about? So is there going to be a fight or not?"

"Go rip wings off of flies or something, you homicidal maniac," Kisame mocked. Hidan spat at the floor at the blue man's feet and took his own leave. Leaving Kisame, Itachi and Hoshiko in the room. Kisame bared his teeth at Hoshiko, who was still crouched on the floor in a pile of stone that had come loose from where she had impacted it.

"I'd be careful if I were you, brat," he told her as he moved off. Hoshiko lowered her gaze; she wasn't going to meet his stare again. She waited until she heard them both leave until she moved.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was in some fucking _pain_. That was some throw that Kakuzu had on him. Her back was screaming at her, she was just glad she didn't have to fight anyone; otherwise she wouldn't be breathing right now. A groan slipped passed her lips as she held one hand against the wall and pushed herself up. Small pieces of rubble dropped from her shirt and pants, once again reminding her that Kakuzu was seriously not one to mess around with.

What had she gotten herself into?

She started to sluggishly walk to the door, intent on returning to her room and passing out for a few hours. She guessed she had been lucky to not have been killed on the spot. She hadn't thought about the repercussions of attacking Itachi, she had been blinded by rage. And now she was certainly paying for it.

The trek back to her room was long; she was also weary of the others that had suddenly disappeared into the compound. Was she no longer under guard? Did that mean she could walk around for the most part? She approached her room and sighed in relief. Opening up the door and stepping into the room her eyes fell on a figure standing near her desk. Her breath got caught in her throat for a moment before she scoffed.

"Come to finish the job?" she asked him. Itachi held her gaze, his crimson eyes emotionless.

"You are supposed to be dead," he stated. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. She pressed her lips into a firm line as she moved away from the door; she left it open in case she needed a quick escape.

"You know, if I have to hear that stupid line one more time, I'm going to loose it," Hoshiko grumbled. When Itachi didn't reply to her she glanced up and met his stare. The Uchiha remained impassive as he suddenly walked towards the door, his cloak brushed up against her exposed skin.

"You made a mistake by coming here," he commented.

Hoshiko glared at the back of his head. "The only mistake I made was not killing you sooner." Itachi paused for a moment. Hoshiko couldn't see his reaction but it didn't matter anyway. Itachi left her room as Hoshiko stormed up to the door and slammed it shut. Splintering the wood slightly.

 **X**

Hoshiko had slept pretty crappy last night. The bed was not the most comfy thing in the world, and add that to her already aching back, she had a restless night. More so the fact that she was within spitting distance of the one man she swore to kill. Her senses had been on alert most of the night, and her body had only allowed her a few hours of nightmares for her to sweat through.

As she rose up from the bed she rubbed her eyes and swiped her hand across her forehead, ridding herself of the droplets of sweat that had built up. The sweat was not only from the nightmares but also from the temperature of the base. The compound seemed to be a few degrees warmer than normal, probably because of the hot springs that sat around them. She had been able to deduce that the base was made around the springs; some of the walls were a lot warmer then others.

Hoshiko swung her legs over the side of the bed; she waited a few moments before pushing herself up and stretching out her limbs. Her back popped in places as she went to the door and poked her head out into the corridor.

She saw Kisame, the large blue man heading towards her. "Mornin' shorty. Hidan didn't slice you up in the night I see?" Kisame jagged teeth flashed at her from behind his dark lips.

Hoshiko didn't want him to elaborate at what he meant by that, she had a firm idea at what type of man Hidan is. "Where do you go to wash around here?" Hoshiko asked.

Kisame jerked his chin up. "Upstairs in the bathhouse, that room that you would've passed coming down here is our own private spring. If you want your clothes washed just leave them by the door and the owner will do it for you. There's also a little room next to it where he leaves us food."

"And he does all of this willingly, and for free?" Hoshiko didn't seem convinced as she quirked an eyebrow.

Kisame chuckled. "Well, it's not like the bastard has much of a choice." Kisame smirked down at her as he moved on. Doing whatever it was that would occupy his time. Hoshiko looked up and down the corridor wearily before heading back into her room and finding a fresh pair of clothes to wear. The ones she had on now were dirty and needed a firm scrub to get all the dust and mud out of them.

She retraced the route to get back up to the surface, pushing up the trap door and letting herself into the back of the bathhouse. It was a bit cooler up on the ground level. She walked down the dim hallway until she came to the opening where the spring resided. When she saw it, it was like her whole body relaxed. She could feel her aching muscles screaming for her to get in the water.

* * *

Itachi had sat up for the majority of the night, replaying the events of the previous day over and over in his head. He and Kisame had returned to the western Stone hideout under orders from Pein. He had left them a cryptic message, that an informant had information on Orochimaru for them. Nothing else was said about it. They had arrived, Hidan greeting them at the top of the stairs.

"What's this all about then?" Kisame had voiced the question for the pair of them. Itachi hated talking to Hidan. He was walking migraine with teeth.

"Some little ballsy bitch tried to do in Kakuzu. They're talking with Leader-sama right now."

"Who is she?" Kisame asked as they moved down the stairs.

"Dunno. Kakuzu seemed to recognize her from one of his ANBU books. She said her name was Yoshina?" Hidan rubbed his head. "Nah—uh Hoshito—no it's Hoshiko!"

At that Itachi's eyes widened. It couldn't possibly—no, she was dead. It was just someone who had the same name as her.

Hidan turned to throw a sly grin over his shoulder. "Didn't really pay attention to her name, more so her face—and that perky little body. Man all I could think of was how good of a fu—"

"Hidan," Itachi said lowly. The Jashin worshiper turned back again, his violet eyes meeting crimson. "Your vulgarity is something I can do without, just take us to where they are."

"All right, whatever the fuck you say, great Uchiha-san," Hidan mocked as he led them towards the chamber where Kakuzu and Hoshiko were.

As they approached the room Itachi could feel two presences within the room. One was Kakuzu; he had known that one straight away. The other he was barely able to register. Whoever they were—if it truly was Hoshiko, they were able to mask their chakra very well. That also had Itachi believing that it could possibly be the same girl from his youth. Only she would be able to do it like that, he had never met another person like her that could mask their chakra so well.

Hidan went in first. Itachi and Kisame followed after him. Itachi caught the tail end of the conversation with Pein as their leader vanished from their eyes.

"Oi, Midget bitch!" Hidan bellowed from beside him.

Itachi's eyes settled on the girls back. She was indeed small, probably only reaching up to his chest if they stood close to one another. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail—that to him looked familiar to the way that Hoshiko used to wear it. Her body was slim, but her exposed arms showed toned muscle. As Itachi stared, he slowly came to realize that he _knew_ that this girl was Hoshiko. She didn't even have to show her his face. He knew it already.

"Didn't you say that you were from that shitpile Konoha?" Hidan questioned boisterously. "Well, shouldn't you two bastards know each other?"

She still refused to face him. Itachi knew that by now she would have known he was behind her. He couldn't possibly imagine the emotions that would be coursing through her veins at this very second. To her, he was the reason her life had turned upside down. She believed that he had murdered her best friend. He could see the slight shake of her arms at her sides; he could feel the deathly aura emanating from her.

He heard the shift of the ground before his eyes registered that she was moving. The _shink_ of her kunai being drawn had him reaching for his own. He knew that her aim was to kill. His eyes slowed down her movements for him. In the seconds that followed due to his Sharingan he was able to identify this woman as the Hoshiko from his youth.

She looked exactly the same as he remembered—if only a little bit different. Her face had changed slightly, thinning out and loosing all of her baby fat. She had grown into all of her features now. Her eyes were still that illuminating silver, clouded by rage. Her nose was straight, sitting at the perfect height above her full lips. Loose bangs fell into her face but she didn't brush them away.

Only a few seconds had passed before Kakuzu had stepped up behind Hoshiko and wrenched her away from him. A look of surprise had passed over her face as she slammed against the opposite wall. Itachi made no sudden moves towards her, he watched as Kakuzu appeared before her and then Kisame holding him back.

Kisame had told Kakuzu that it was to be his decision about whether or not Hoshiko's life ended then and there. Itachi met her gaze once again. Her eyes showed no emotion when she stared at him. _You're still as rash and ill tempered as before,_ he thought in exasperation.

"Hn. Let her be," he ordered. Kakuzu relented his attack as he turned and stated that Hoshiko was no longer his problem and exited the room. Hidan exclaimed his disappointment at the lack of fighting as Kisame snapped back with a retort as sharp as his teeth. Hidan left the room, leaving Hoshiko, Kisame and Itachi remaining. Kisame hissed something to Hoshiko as he turned and met up with his partner, the two exiting the room.

Once they were out Kisame turned to Itachi. "So what the hell was that all about?" Itachi turned on his heel and marched away.

"None of your concern."

Itachi found himself inside her room not a few minutes later. He had been…curious. His eyes stared down at the bed. It had been sat on. He moved around to the desk, where he spotted something that made his eyes twitch into a slight frown. A familiar green book was perched near the edge of the desk. It was something that he had seen in the hands of a man he had once called friend back in Konoha.

He wondered what possible use Hoshiko could have for such a crude book, but then he did remember that they weren't kids anymore. Itachi stepped towards the desk, his fingers outstretched as they glided over the cover. It was definitely worn, the book had been used plenty of times in the past. His fingers turned the cover over, opening up the book as he spotted a leaf sitting in the middle of the page. His expression remained impassive as he stared down at the small leaf. On it, the symbol of Konoha had been engraved onto it.

Itachi didn't have time to ponder on what it meant when he heard the door open. He shut the book silently and turned around. Hoshiko entered and looked startled for a second at seeing him there. She composed herself.

"Come to finish the job?" She said bitterly.

"You are supposed to be dead," Itachi stated. He was curious to know how she had survived being supposedly 'killed'. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. Her gaze avoided his as she took a few steps further into the room and pressed her lips tightly together before speaking.

"You know, if I have to hear that stupid line one more time, I'm going to loose it."

Itachi didn't reply to her, he had no need to. He watched as Hoshiko's eyes flicked up to his. He blinked his gaze away, moving towards her. He saw her body tense but he made no move to attack her.

"You made a mistake by coming here," he told her. He meant in the sense that she would probably die because of that temper of hers. If she didn't rein it in, Kakuzu wouldn't be the only one trying to kill her. He had passed her, and he expected her to have a retort—she always did.

"The only mistake I made was not killing you sooner," she growled. Itachi paused. He had been caught off guard by the absolute hate in her tone of voice. Even four years ago, when they had their confrontation she hadn't sounded like that. Her hatred had been brewing for a long time it seemed. Itachi didn't react to her as he continued to walk out of the room. Once he was a few feet away he heard the door slam behind him.

* * *

Hoshiko let out a sigh as she slid her body into the hot spring. The boiling hot water stung for a few moments before she got used to it. Hoshiko sunk a little lower, letting the water lap at her chin as she tilted her head back to rest against the rock wall. She began to rub at her arms and legs, getting rid of the dirt that had built up over her few days of travelling with Hidan and Kakuzu. The ends of her black hair floated around her gently as Hoshiko sighed once more. She felt relaxed—as much as she could, seeing as psychopaths surrounded her.

Hoshiko didn't know how long she had been soaking in the spring before a ruckus caught her attention. She lifted her head and extended her senses. She could sense Hidan entered the compound from the back exit right near her. Two others accompanied him but their chakra levels were that of civilians. It was only a few seconds before all three of them came stumbling around the corner. Hidan was sandwiched in the middle between two scantily clad women. Hidan himself looked no better; his cloak was off his arms and around his waist. A strange looking necklace revealed to Hoshiko. The two women giggled as they all bared each other's weight to walk into the hot spring room.

"Well well," Hidan slurred, spotting Hoshiko sitting perfectly still. "If it isn't the little bitch. Come to join in on the fun?" The woman suddenly stripped off their clothes and jumped into the spring. Hidan held his arms out and swayed side to side.

"Are you drunk?" Hoshiko asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. She was thinking about how it was barely sunrise. Then again, Hidan probably hadn't slept yet.

"The fuck are you? My mother?" Hidan spat before he quickly disrobed. Hoshiko quickly turned her head to avoid getting an eyeful of Hidan. Her cheeks flamed red from the situation she was currently in. She heard a splash, and then more giggles from the women. Hoshiko snuck a peek at the group, what she saw had her cheeks turning red once more. The women were groping at Hidan's body—attractive his body may be, his personality was a huge turn off so Hoshiko couldn't understand why they wanted him. Hoshiko knew that at the rate they were going, something else would be happening very soon.

She needed to get out of there, quickly. She glanced over to the railings, her towel was hanging with her fresh clothes, she hadn't thought to keep them close, as she didn't suspect that anyone else would come into the spring with her.

"Oi, Hishouko."

"Hoshiko," she corrected Hidan with a snarl. Their eyes locked as Hidan relished in having one woman plant kisses all over his neck. The Jashin worshipper smirked.

"Why don't you slide on over here and join in on the fucking fun. I reckon a good fuck would help you loosen that tight ass of yours."

Hoshiko felt her skin crawl. There was no way in hell that she would even move an inch closer to the group. She faced away from the group, folding her arms over her chest and hoping to wait them out. If anything started, she was hoping they would be too distracted and she could race on over to her clothes and get the hell out of there before they noticed.

She didn't have to wait long before someone else joined them. Hoshiko sunk down lower into the water when Itachi came around the corner. _Just my fucking luck_ , she thought sourly. Itachi didn't even look in her direction; his crimson gaze was locked onto Hidan.

"Hidan," Itachi said monotonously. The Jashin growled.

"The fuck you want, Uchiha?"

Itachi remained still in the doorway, "You know the rules. Leader-sama would not be pleased to find you intoxicated and inviting potential moles into the hideout."

"Leader-sama can suck my ass!" Hidan hissed, he forcefully pushed one of the women off him. "He's putting us in a lockdown for the next week cause of this uptight bitch!" Hidan pointed over at Hoshiko. "So how the hell am I supposed to have any fun? She won't open her legs for me."

Hoshiko wanted to crawl up in a ball and die. She had never met someone so crude before, and it made it all worse that Itachi was here. She could handle Hidan and his innuendos but for some reason Itachi she felt horrified that he was hearing these things.

Itachi moved closer to the pool, his Sharingan began to swirl as he stared at the women. "Leave," he ordered. The women did as they were told. They dressed robotically and left the hideout.

"There goes my fucking fun," Hidan grumbled.

Hoshiko was waiting for Hidan to leave the spring, but he didn't. She didn't want to be around these men anymore, especially with no clothes on. As she was thinking about how long she would have to wait her towel was suddenly thrust into her vision. Hoshiko flinched, her eyes looking up to Itachi who was holding the towel out for her. Her brows knitted together, wondering what ulterior motive he could possibly have for doing something nice for her. Why was he even bothering? Hoshiko reached up and snatched the towel from him, once it was out of his hands Itachi turned and said nothing as he left the room. Hoshiko followed him with her eyes until he was gone.

Hoshiko stood and awkwardly covered herself with the towel as she climbed out of the spring.

"What? Not even a flash?" she heard Hidan comment. Shaking her head at the strange man Hoshiko collected her fresh clothes and left her dirty ones as she hightailed it out of the hot spring and back to her room. She didn't see Itachi on her way back.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Well it's finally here, the reunion happened finally! I'm not sure what the response is going to be about this, I hope I did this scene justice and all their interactions with each other. I'm so excited to finally have this out there, but there's still a long way to go before these two see eye to eye once again. And get excited cause we'll be having some scenes with just them two soon!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was so much fun to write!**

 **REPLIES**

kwisy - Reunion is here! Ahhhh I hope you liked it!

Doodlebugs - I hope you enjoyed it! I hope i didnt take too long this time! And omg yes! I totally think of Hoshiko being in the new generation too! Maybe i'll do a spinoff after this one ;)

AugustRush - Thank you!

Guest (Kris) - Yaaay! Thank you! I love writing Hidan and Kisame now hahah! Can't wait for more scenes with them haha

Y - Aw thank you!

Unaymus - Hiya! In regards to Danzo and the Koto-blahblah I read up about him, so Orochimaru implanted the eyes in his arms before he left Konoha, and I just assumed that he had one put in his eye too. It wouldn't have been Shisui's for obvious reasons just a normal Sharingan which can place them under a certain Genjutsu or whatever. We never really got shown if Danzo had a Sharingan under all those bandages but i just assumed so! And then when he took Shisui's eye he implanted it in there. But who knows, maybe he didnt have one...my artistic freedom comes in handy there xD But anyway I appreciate you picking up on that! As it was something that I didn't really think about too much! Hope you're enjoying!

thatonegirlwhoyoudontknow - ;) I'm glad someone picked up on the dango reference!

greymoon - Ahhhhhh! Itachi reunion! I hope you enjoyed and I kept them all in character in this chapter too! Oh i am totally excited for some Hidan and Hoshiko shenanigans! xD

Random person - Here it is!


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